Is Kerala thirsting for water?

Yesterday  I heard in the news that Bharathapuzha has broken into two pieces.. the river has refused to run it's course! It is normal for this river to run a little dry during the dry season but this is the first time that it has been entirely broken up. There were newspaper reports about rampant sand mining on this river.

Sand-mining had led to depletion of the groundwater level and had affected the water flow. Saline water entered the river easily, especially during summer. The three-month ban on sand-mining during monsoon was also not being enforced, he said.

But let me forget this river for a moment and talk about the one that runs in front of our place. It has it's origin from both the Pampa river and Manimala river. Both these rivers originates from the western ghats and from the district of Idukki. It has to be fed by rain and for the last two years monsoon has not been good. The Pamba is considered as the Dakshina Ganga (Southern Ganges) due to its association with Kerala's Largest Pilgrim Centre - Sabarimala. Manimala river passes through the districts of Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and finally joins the Pamba River at Muttar near Tiruvalla in Alappuzha district; very close to our place. From here it runs it's course through Kuttanad and joins the great Vembanad lake. 

The following photos were taken in year 2007. During each monsoon, this river spills onto the road but since the last few years it has not done so.

More photos can be viewed on my other blog : 

I also remember the time more than a decade back when this water came around the house too. This happens very rarely. 

 The following photos were taken during June of year 2009.

You can see the level of water. I doubt if water level will ever rise like before. 

Kerala is indeed going to face tough times. 

The State Disaster Management Authority has declared four districts drought-affected, with the monsoon months of June, July, and August bringing very little rain.

The districts declared drought affected are Wayanad, Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki, and Kollam, an official press release said on Thursday. The State as a whole has received only 77 per cent of the normal monsoon rainfall so far. Rainfall was especially less in the above four districts.

Recently during a discussion I realized that most Keralites are not aware of the relation between low lying  fallow lands (Wet Lands) and ground water table. Earlier Kerala had much wet lands either as paddy fields, temple ponds or small ponds dug in each plot to catch the rain water and let it seep back into the ground. This person whom I spoke to wanted to know why we should retain paddy fields if we are not cultivating. Yes it is unfortunate that we are not cultivating and I am sure it looks like a waste of land but these low lying lands are important since only they can replenish the ground water. 

Each rainy season brings enough water to Kerala and can be used wisely. Rain water harvesting has started in Kerala but the decision is late.

The Government of India has directed the State Government to provide certain provisions in building rules, pertaining to incorporation of rooftop rainwater harvesting arrangements in building.

I fervently hope that monsoon will not fail the coming year too or should it? Just so that people will wake up finally? Else like Kuwait, one should build desalination plants for water supplies. But water is not the only issue. Can one imagine Kerala without all the greenery? I would rather quit my state than see it is such a sad situation. Then there is the issue of power too since 35% of power comes from hydroelectric power stations which depend on rain water. 

From March until the monsoon the well in our place becomes muddy since the level of water in the river falls very low. Right now we are pumping the river water and letting it seep into the ground. The water in the well is then just enough for a small household. We are also planning a solar energy system if we get a good company to do the same. A rain water harvesting system is also thought of. The day the river in front of us dry up then one can be sure that Kerala has become a desert!

For sure, if adequate measures are not taken the following scenes will be seen all over Kerala.

http://www.commonfloor.com/news/flat-dwellers-facing-water-shortage-in-kerala-27262
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article2963866.ece
http://www.cedindia.org/2008/10/development-of-drought-indices-for-kerala/

Where are you my dear lady?

Where art thou ?

Why have you abandoned us?

As usual the dates were fixed for June 1st but you did not grace us with your presence?

At times we might have cribbed when you unleashed your full power but please dont treat them seriously. You should know that we cannot be without you. There are some of us who make annual trips just to see you, to touch you.We carry precious memories of your visits and nothing can compare to you.

Yes it is the monsoon that I am talking about. Normally by the end of June the rivers would be full and so would the dams. But this year monsoon seems to have abandoned Kerala. If she does not make an appearance Kerala is doomed! Without power and water, what shall it's residents do? Even those standing in queue for their daily spirit would need a bit of water :)

Every year when we go for vacation we watch the river slowly rising. Although monsoon can be a bit irritating  Keralites know that without it, the state would die a slow death.

It is time for prayers!

Another Monsoon

Another monsoon awaits us and I hear that the final “venal mazha” or the Summer rains are now pouring down. This time they have predicted the monsoon to arrive earlier. The monsoon seems to have turned out to be a like a choosy lady these days! Anyway, as long as she continues her much awaited visits, it is fine.

Finished shopping and we only need to cram the bags as usual.

The other day we visited “Platform”, a shop for hardware. Somehow I liked the concept, else who would want to spend shopping time in a hardware shop!

I am not sure if they have this kind of a showroom in India. (The Platform concept was launched by Saint Gobain (SG), Europe’s leading manufacturer and distributor of building materials, in 1998. It has since then become the fastest growing business within SG’s €20 Billion-Distribution Division with a network of more than 70 stores in 10 European and South American markets.)

At “Platform” those who are building a house will get to see every item that will go into it. There are also all kinds of tools; to buy and also for hire. The foldable ladder looked very handy. We went there since the almost 20 year old Union door lock back home is showing signs of ageing and Hubby wanted to shift it from the front door (demoted I guess!). The penchant for Union Lock is still there but we found that the price has moved up too high. We settled for another lock and found that there are many good locks from India too. Since we may find no time to go lock searching in India, we settled for UK locks. No point in buying an Indian product for India from Kuwait.

We also ended up buying a few knick knacks for the bathrooms and also some handy tools. The bathroom fittings are good and those who want to spend more money can wander into a separate show room of “Aquamondo” where they have displayed a few beautifully fitted bathrooms. I clicked a few photographs outside the shop.




We wound up that day’s shopping with a sumptuous Arabic meal from a local restaurant.

Monsoon here we come...

Been very busy lately and finally we should soon be preparing to greet the monsoon and the hartals!

For those of us who wait eagerly to board the flight, our main concern should be hartals and nothing else. There are even websites giving schedule of the hartals and until this hour the coast seems clear for us to land.

As for the monsoon, this year it was playing truant with Kerala. It was supposed to drench the thirsty State on May 29th but it showed up briefly and left.. again to reappear mildly. And now it is back in full force. Makes me wonder if it was indeed waiting for us!

But what is Kerala without its monsoon?

This month’s Readers Digest too had an article on the Indian monsoon.

So here I go in great anticipation, to capture some beautiful memories once again….

Rain

The day that I mentioned that there is no rain.. it started with a bang.. started late at night with thunder and lightening.. nd then crash... heavy rain with mighty winds....
Can smell the rain drenched air at night and it is so cooling.. needs no A/C and no fan.. talking about fan.. the current leaves us as soon as the rain starts... nd the inverter too is not upto the mark.. but still we are enjoying.. tomorrow hope to visit a few relatives..

until then... adieu...

Count Down

Only 2 more days left to go.. and the rain is lashing heavily, disrupting, Air, Train and road traffic. The river next to our house is almost spilling over. If the rains continue in the same manner, I doubt a comfortable trip home since we have to travel almost 2 and half hours from the Airport. But come what may we have to go!

And there is no current since 3 days.. so if I am not online that means there is no electricity, hence no internet connection and no blogging!

Guess we should take our Bangalore trip earlier than planned. Wonder how the rains are treating Bangalore.

Rain

Ir rained for a while yesterday.. just enough to bring down the dust that never reached the ground so far.

Actually if it rains too long things will change drastically out here. It was in 1997 that we had the heaviest rain. I was working in the city at that time. It started around 3 PM and slowly we saw the water rising. And then it was utter chaos. I couldnt find our usual transport but luckily found a few friends. We hoppped into the car of a guy whom we met for the first time and started the journey around 6 PM. We could see water all around us and there were a few local boys helping us with directions. The most shocking site was a road with over head bridges.. it was completely submerged with a few cars stuck on the way down. And slowly we moved inch by inch.. Never have the residents seen such flooding in their entire lives.

We could reach home only after 11 PM. Luckily my maid was there to look after our daughter since even my Hubby could reach home only around that time.

We do wait for such occasions to come.. since there would be a holiday for sure.. but there was never a repition! There was another year where we had to return home after almost reaching the office.

Looking forward to see the monsoon and we have bought a fishing line this time. Since the river is right in front of our house we can try our luck. This will be the first time we will be fishing.

Monsoon

Today early in the morning the sky darkened and it started raining heavily for a short while. But it was enough to transport me home.. specially since we should be seeing the monsoon this year. I don’t think there is anything else so beautiful!
During one of our visits when the kids were small there was a flood. Our house is just a few feet away from the river with just a road to separate. When the rain starts one can see the water slowly changing its color. And when the rains have been heavier up in the mountains the water will become muddier. And then it will slowly creep up. Normally it stays just below the road but that year the rain was heavy and they had to open up a few dams. The water was all around the house and in our portico we could see fishes and small snakes. We were lucky that the bigger reptiles dint visit us, though this did happen to others. As for Hubby’s cousins as usual even this year they had to shift all their things to the second floor since the first floor was totally flooded! But for us visitors (from Gulf) it was fun time. The only hassle is that one cant venture outside but even this has its good side.. ur pockets r not drained!