By Sam Paul A.
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A study by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) on local level problems and solutions to floods in Lower Kuttanad has called for better coordination between grama panchayats and ‘padashekara samithis’ (local committees of paddy farmers) for effective flood management in the region.
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It calls local bodies to lead flood mitigation activities through canal de-siltation, maintenance and repairing of bunds, and reconstruction of unscientifically designed roads and culverts. “Grama panchayats need to engage in flood adaptation and resilience planning to reduce impacts of floods. This is important to equip the communities to ‘live with floods’ that is inevitable for a place like Kainakary,” while noting that micro floods (flooding that happen regionally with a prolonged inundation period up to two months) are very frequent and happened up to seven times in the last three years in many parts of Kainakary as a result of bund breach and dwindling capacity of canals.
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On the need for better septage management, the study calls for designing “appropriate on-site sanitation systems that suit the high water table and flood context of Kuttanad.” Decentralised technologies should be introduced to resolve drinking water issues in Kainakary. The MGNREGA workforce should be utilised in sustainable infrastructure building for flood management, water, and sanitation.
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