Alappuzha: As torrential rains lashed Kuttanad, they stayed in their houses. The threat of flooding was looming large.
As the monsoon showers subsided after about three days, the residents of Pallippad panchayat in Kartikapally taluk of Alappuzha district heaved a sigh of relief.
Their repose was short-lived however.
It was 8 am on July 7. The heavy rain alerts were withdrawn as only light showers were being experienced for the past couple of days.
Pradeep (47), a daily wager residing in Neduvattom, set out of his thatched hut in an isle surrounded by paddy fields for work, as the sky cleared up.
Anyhow he was alarmed by the rising waters of the nearby Achankovil river. By evening, the river had breached its bank; flood water gushed into his house.
Like Pradeep, residents in areas like Kuriachira, Cheruthana, Karuvatta and Veeyapuram in the taluk were surprised by the flash floods.
Pallippad panchayat officials and ward members ran helter-skelter as a relief camp in Neduvattom was sanctioned as late as 8 pm on Friday.
Some of the families immediately moved out as others waited for the sun to dawn and country boats to arrive.
While it takes at least 24 hours for the run-off water from the upper reaches of major rivers such as Pamba, Achankovil and Manimala to reach regions downstream, coastal villages of the district, unlike those in the central Kuttanad like Ramankary and Kavalam, were not expecting a flood situation.
“This is totally unexpected. Intense rain was there for only two days. The alerts have been withdrawn, and the sky clear. But look at the swollen river (Achankovil). We acted fast last night and obtained a sanction from the taluk on a war footing to open a relief camp at the Neduvattom higher secondary school. Families are still moving to the camp one by one as we speak,” said Biju Krishnan, councillor of ward no.10 in Pallippad panchayat.
Life at relief camp
Time was running out for village officer Bindusha and her team as they visited the flood-affected area on Thursday evening, at times wading through neck-deep water, to have a first-hand assessment and submit a request to the taluk to allot the relief camp.
They constantly stayed in touch with the ward councillors and panchayat presidents.
“Sixty houses were partially inundated and at least three fully. We immediately began distributing medicine and other essentials. There were pregnant women, heart patients and cancer patients among the affected, mostly residing in the eastern parts of the panchayat. They have been finally shifted to the camp by this morning,” said Anitha, an ASHA worker based in Neduvattom.
“We managed to convert the aided school to a relief camp on short notice. But still, the challenges are many. The village offices are functioning (despite today being a second Saturday) to complete the paper work, procure vegetables and food materials from Civil Supplies and Maveli stores in Haripad (the main coastal town) to start providing food to the camp inhabitants,” said Sambu, village assistant, revenue department.
“Separate rooms are being arranged for pregnant women and terminally ill patients who have been brought in an ambulance. We’ll provide them with medical facilities including the examination by a doctor. Sanitisation measures, too, have been arranged to prevent the infection spread,” he added.
There was initially some confusion, though, among the flood victims about the location of the camp.
“My family, consisting of my little son and wife, shifted to the camp last night itself after water started entering our house in the evening. However, some went to the Neduvattom lower primary school, which was one of the relief camps during the 2018 floods. The camp information is slowly being passed out to all,” said Pradeep.
Water shattering hopes
Most of the residents raise cattle as a source of income; they are now forced to leave the livestock behind.
“I was forced to leave behind my cow while shifting to the camp along with my family. All that I could do was to untie the animal. Similarly, many have poultry. However, the worst challenge is when we go back. Our houses will be partially damaged and all the slush and mud, and sometimes reptiles, will be there,” another resident Rajan said while waiting to register at the camp.
“Earlier, we used to do paddy cultivation twice a year like in Kuttanad. However, the soil here is too loose to make bunds. Now most of us do plantain cultivation alongside other crops. All of that will now be lost in the floods, pushing us into poverty,” he complained.
The situation is similar in nearby areas like Veeyapuram, where six additional camps were opened in the last 24 hours. The traffic movement along the Haripad-Chennithala-Mannar route too has been hit for now, as road portions in areas like Anjalimoodu are inundated.
Kuttanad wetland in Kerala is the lowest point in India and lies below the mean sea level spread across Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts.
The waters from the eastern region reach the coastal belt before draining into the sea through the Thottapally spillway, Andhakaranazhy and Kayamkulam canal among others. However, the rough sea is pushing back the run-off water, which too has aggravated the situation in the coastal belt.
