From choking backwaters to cleaner currents [Commentary]

It was a deeply disappointing day for Thankan, the fisherman from Perumpalam island in Alappuzha, Kerala. He had rowed his boat much further, dragged his fishing net longer but had caught more plastic and rubbish, than fish. Such was the fate of most other fishermen of the island as well as others who reside beside the backwaters of Kerala.

Plastic waste and refuse dumped into the famed backwaters of Kerala had choked arterial canals and rivulets, polluted waterways and contaminated drinking water sources. Fertiliser and pesticide residue from paddy fields had further poisoned the land and water. The vintage motor boats, a vital lifeline for the people of this water-laden land, continue to belch out smoke and spill puddles of engine oil and fuel.

The normal cycle of life, where tides would take out a good portion of waste and flush it back into the sea, was broken. This daily process of ingestion and flushing had helped revitalise fish-stocks and stabilise life of the backwaters for centuries. But, by the turn of the century, waste dumping had become so acute that the delicate balance between land, backwaters and sea had been broken and the tides were no longer able to flush out the huge amount of waste. The biggest culprits were big cities like Kochi and Alappuzha.

Choking lake

Kerala’s Vembanad lake, the longest lake in India and the largest in the state is slowly dying. The cause: excessive waste dumping, proliferation of weeds and continuous silting. Stretching over a span of 2,033 sq km and a length of 96.5 km, the vast water body is fed by torrential monsoon rains from six rivers. It is a wetland of international importance, acknowledged by the Ramsar Convention. Estimates say it is home to some 20,000 water fowls, otters and various varieties of fish, both resident and migrants from the sea.

The lake is vital to Kerala, connecting major trading centres like Alappuzha and Kochi. It is a much vaunted tourist attraction with its sanguine sunsets, intriguing history, boat races, historical monuments, and thousands of houseboats catering to tourists.

But, urban waste was beginning to choke the waterways and its tourism potential. Cities such as Kochi and Alappuzha are not only connected by land, sea and backwaters but also by centuries-old history. The history of trade between the Malabar Coast and ancient Western civilizations is well documented, dating back to biblical times, to the Greek and Roman empires. And later, the Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch, French and the English, who landed in the much fabled coast seeking black gold (pepper), cardamom and other spices.

The spices they sought were abundant in the Western Ghats. But transport from the Ghats to the coast remained a big challenge. It had to be brought down on bullock carts or head load along steep and narrow treacherous mountain paths, down to the midlands. After the perilous journey down the mountains, the spices commenced a more leisurely and secure transit on canoes, rafts and country boats, over rivers and canals down to lakes and backwaters, and further to coastal ports.

The city of Alappuzha was the closest port of call for these produce of the High Ranges and Cardamom Hills. And the port city was itself well connected by a web of rivers, canals and backwaters with the Western Ghats and midland trading towns. The traders who flocked to this burgeoning coastal port from all over the world were charmed by the sea on one side, land, lake and backwaters on the other and by the intricate network of canals and rivers that they began calling it the “Venice of the East”. Ancient spice trade became almost synonymous with these hills, rivers, lakes, trading centres and Alappuzha port.

But the glory of this ancient trading port did not last very long. The introduction of motor transport during the early 20^th century offered greater speed, reliability and last mile coverage and it began to overtake traditional water transport. This led to a proliferation of roads.

As demand for spices soared, more roads were constructed linking Ghats and Kochi. Kochi transformed into the port of choice. Alappuzha and its port went into a state of decline. Its waterways went into disuse, got silted and infested with weeds and debris. However, despite the lack of trade, the city still continues to remain the place of choice for millions of tourists visiting the state.

Meanwhile, Kochi port continued to develop. Volume and value of trade multiplied. The old port was totally revamped. A new container transhipment terminal was added at Vallarpadam. New road and rail connectivity were added. Trade and commerce flourished. It emerged into a mega metro city. And so did the waste generation. Some of this found its way into the lakes and backwaters. Much of it was washed upstream into the lakes and water bodies, all the way up to Alappuzha. A good portion of it sank back into lake beds, adding to silting and choking of waterways.

Others washed ashore or got entangled in fishing nets such as Thankan’s. They were promptly discarded back into the waters from whence they came. It was not as if Alappuzha was not producing its own waste mountains. Just that these were supplemented by the wastes from Kochi. The final straw in the intricately woven tapestry of the two cities.

Managing waste and revamping transport

But, then the tides changed again. Efforts to contain and recycle the waste seems to have begun in Kochi in earnest. This emanated from a combination of factors: increased vigilance, greater awareness, and better waste procurement facilities. But the most critical component seems to be technology driven waste processing into compost and manure – using millions of black soldier flies. This compost is now exported to the Gulf as manure. Although it is still too early to comment, the city’s waste seems headed in the right direction.

Second, the much maligned transport system seems to be in throes of change. Though rail and road transport continues to grow, some serious efforts seems to have been made to revive and revitalise water transport. Kochi has introduced air conditioned electric boats which run on batteries that are almost non-polluting. And the process of transition from traditional diesel guzzling, energy in-efficient, noisy boats of yesterdays, seems well on its way.

For Kochi, it all began with the launch of the Metro. Although brief, the evolution of the Metro system in Kochi has been remarkable. The Kochi Metro integrated other modes of transport effectively and assimilated and enculturated itself into the overall transport map. Once Kochi Metro had stabilised, it launched its own electric city buses, mini buses and fleet of feeder systems like e-autos. These electric feeder services, helped reduce noise and exhaust emission – limiting pollution which was threatening to choke up the city.

Once a comprehensive transport system was in position, specific focus shifted to electric water metro. The city had always been blessed with abundant waterways, canals and lakes. A fleet of electric air conditioned boats were introduced linking islands, enhancing tourism potential, offering parallel services to highly congested road routes, where traffic literally crawled. Providing speed, efficiency, convenience and air conditioned comfort, lured passengers from congested roads. The introduction of water metro between Vyttila road transport hub and Kakkanad IT centre is one such story.

There seems to be a slow but sustained shift from conventional congested road transport to Metro and water metro along with their fleet of electric buses, mini buses and e-autos. Despite much prodding and promotion by the government, the shift from private to public transport never became a reality. Now, with viable alternatives like metro and water metro, offering air conditioned comfort, speed, efficiency, punctuality and regularity of service, the shift from road to water and metro is becoming a reality.  And, Kochi’s air, water and land have been the beneficiaries.

Seeing the benefits to the public, environment and society, Union Shipping Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal on a visit to Kochi said that the project is a shining testament to India’s ability to blend tradition with innovation. He was sufficiently impressed to announce that Kochi’s water metro model would be introduced across 24 other Indian cities, especially in the North East which are equally blessed with water.

The focus would be on heritage towns and modern metros, many of which sit beside under-utilised waterways. The classic example is in the cities of Kochi and Alappuzha. Both of which are heritage cities with a long history of trade and commerce. And, just a century ago, almost all the trade and commerce as well as all passenger and goods transport were undertaken over inland waterways. But that had become history after roads took over trade and commerce and extended it to personal mobility. Now, all that seems poised to change.

Change in the air

It was due to unique features like personal mobility, end-to-end connectivity, speed and efficiency that provided its unilateral ascendance over water transport. Now, the very same features are proving to its undoing. No matter how much the road extension, vehicles continued to proliferate, leading to increased congestion, emission and pollution. The roads were choked with personal vehicles, cars and two wheelers. Mobility came to a crawl. The air became unbreathable. As the traffic crawled to stuttering stops, the passengers began to despair. The advent of the metro and water metro has given a new lease of life to the city. As traffic snarls came to a halt, Kochi metro weaned away a portion of road passengers. An avid lesson for Alappuzha to emulate and follow.

And it has benefited Kochi’s tourism industry as well. Hordes of tourists, both domestic and foreign are found traversing on water metro which provides vital link between heritage tourist sites, Fort Kochi and Mattanchery. Old country canoes and huge rice boats laden with spices have been replaced with smart and elegant e-boats with eager tourists waiting to be taken through old-world narrow and congested lanes where spice trade bustled for centuries.

Though the refuse and waste have not gone away from Thankan’s life as yet, there is a nip in the air as fresh breeze sweeps into the island.

Read more: Is zero waste Kerala’s dream or dilemma? [Commentary]

Banner image: A bronze-winged jacana in Vembanad lake. Estimates say the lake is home to some 20,000 water fowls, otters and various varieties of fish. Image by Charles J. Sharp via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).