Bengaluru: Nestled in the luxury of a houseboat, from the banks of the Punnamada Lake, you are sure to witness one of the best dawns of your life!
But, if you look closely at the tranquil waters from where you enjoy the sunrise, gently bobbing along with the houseboat, the streams of crimson sunlight penetrating the lake’s surface will expose its black, thick and heavy underbelly — the residues of your enjoyment.
Welcome to Alappuzha, or Alleppey, as it is popularly known.
The bride of south Indian state of Kerala’s backwater economy, Alleppey is a classic case of a king’s overindulgence with his favourite bride. Consequently, the bride has now become a sick old woman, though still maintaining its cosmetic beauty.
Dotted with hundreds of houseboats, the filthy, oil-covered and sewage infested lakes of Alleppey have become festering cesspools as their link to the sea is blocked, messing up with their natural filtering system.
Water hyacinth is choking up the canals, reducing the oxygen levels in the water and causing the depletion in fish stock.
The aquatic weed is a constant source of discomfort for both the fishermen and the boat captains, as it gets entangled in the nets and propellers. The Venice of Kerala is reeling!
But, that is just a small price to pay in the march of progress. The show must go on.
According to Kerala’s Alleppey-based environmentalist KV Dayal, who is known as the Forest Man of Kerala, the primary cause of the backwater degeneration in Alleppey is continuous development without ecological consultation. “Backwaters are a typical ecosystem, it is very sensitive and fragile. Over the years, so many development programmes have been rolled out without considering the science of ecology and that is the real problem,” he says.
Natural diversity
Nature has blessed Alleppey with abundance in natural beauty and resources, and man has abundantly pilfered it.
From the backwaters and lakes to the canals and sea, Alleppey is a place for serenity.
Add to that the verdant paddies, the supple coconut palms and the succulent seafood, its an ideal combination for a tropical vacation. It was exactly with such imagery in mind we landed in Alleppey, hoping to add more shades to our already colourful tour of southern India.
Excitedly, we started with the sunset, and it was magical to say the least, but as the sun rose on the horizon, an image of great contrasts began to appear.
Indeed, the nature and scenery were as splendid as described by many, but to the discerning eyes, their beauty was just skin deep.
The residents and commercial enterprises of Alleppey literally live off the waters that surround them. The lakes are as vast as the ocean and countless tiny islands, in most cases man-made, dot the water bodies, connected only through a well-oiled (pun intended) water transport system.
People relieve themselves in the lakes and canals, bathe, wash their clothes as well as fish off the same waters. It’s a complete cycle of exploitation.
The only thing that seems to be missing is the regard for the nature that is being consummately exploited.
“Proper ecological studies are not being conducted by hiring the experts of the field, before sanctioning any developmental, agricultural or tourism initiative, which is causing more damage to the ecosystem compared to the benefits these programmes are supposed to bring,” said Dayal, who has been studying the local ecosystem and Kerala’s biodiversity closely for years and has made recommendations for its preservation.
According to the veteran environmentalist, the problem is not new, it started with the introduction of rice cultivation in Alleppey’s Kuttanad region that skirts the backwaters.
“The issue is that nobody knows what is Kuttannada, what should be the transporting system here, what should be the landscape developed here,” he added.
Reclamation
Adding to the woes of nature is the continuous reclamation of the land for agriculture (mostly paddies) and the construction of barriers to stop seawater from entering the lakes and canals, which makes the water unsuitable for irrigation.
The barriers have blocked the only natural filtering system, thus making the lake and canal waters filthy.
It’s obvious that for the water quality to improve, the barriers have to go, but that will adversely impact the paddies which are at below sea level.
Despite all this, to the eyes of a regular tourist the place is exotic, almost surreal.
The water is tranquil and languid, may even seem like an elixir to some. That is, if they get time to look closely amid all the euphoria over selfies and scenic breakfasts!
Needless to say, backwater tourism is an important source of employment for thousands of local men and women. But, if the enjoyment and the employment will together lead to the destruction of its source, the existence of both will be in danger.
Kerala is rich in biodiversity, blessed with a natural variety that only a few Indian states possess. But, its natural resources are depleting at a rate higher than many other states, thanks to the so called ‘material’ progress and excessive urbanisation and commercialisation.
Most apt example of how nature is suffering due to man’s never-ending greed is the crown jewel of Kerala’s tourism — its backwater ecosystem.
-- Shafaat Shahbandari is a Bengaluru based journalist. He is the founder of Thousand Shades of India, an alternative media platform that celebrates the diversity of India.
