When water displaces natives from 'sinking island' of Kerala

Tucked away from chaos of this nearby commercial town, re is an inland island where wooden country boats can be seen carrying tourists every w and n through tranquil canals, flanked by lush mangrove patches and shy coconut lagoons.

Visitors can be seen leisurely sitting on boats and ing breathtaking visuals of greenish waterways, flocks of migratory birds and moss-infested low bridges re.

However, it may be hard for any outsider to believe that several hundreds of natives have left scenic Munroe Thuruth, a cluster of islets located at confluence of Ashtamudi Lake and Kalla River here, in recent years due to hazardous living conditions caused by unusual high tides post Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.

According to ufficial figures, population of island, named after erstwhile British resident Colonel Munroe, has dwindled to around 8,000 from 12,000-13,000 in recent years.

Hundreds of families are still facing threat of displacement in this tourist destination due to high tides and corresponding seep of saline water into house premises, waterlogging and connectivity issues.

Abandoned houses filled with dirt and stench, partially submerged pathways, buildings with moistened walls and crevices on structures and people doing ir daily chores in ankle-high water were common scenes in most affected areas in this island.

"Water is like an unwelcome guest in our homes," Susheela, a woman native, said with a grim smile.

Saline water, seeping into houses at regular intervals due to high tides, has been destroying concrete structure of houses and turning its yards into pools of brown filth, she said.

"ways, water comes almost every day and leaves after some hours and comes again. It is all water around us w. Our little children are going to school wing through filthy water," Susheela told PTI.

Though island was once kwn for its coconut lagoons, high salinity in water and waterlogging have taken a dangerous toll on coconut trees, decaying its roots and turning m into just lifeless stems, she said.

region h been witnessing high tides in certain months for deces and that was rmal, but issue became so severe after tsunami in 2004, woman, a resident of Kidapram south ward, recalled.

A sought-after cruise tourism destination, comprising eight tiny islets in an area of 13.4 sq km, Munroe Island's low-lying areas have been facing a serious threat of being submerged during high tides for quite some years, according to native people.

Houses are inundated and land is largely reclaimed by water in many islets, causing grual "sinking" of buildings, or constructions and flora, y said.

Though several studies have been carried out in se years seeking to find out exact reasons for issues in Munroe Thuruth, experts are divided in ir opinion.

Some attribute unusual high tides to global warming and climate change, some ors see this as a result of post-tsunami tectonic shift.

Those who see construction of Kalla dam over three deces ago and vibration caused by trains passing through island as reasons for phemen are also t less.

Jayachandran, ar resident, was heaving a sigh of relief that intensity of tides was lower on day. "It was low today...but it was very high two days ago. High tides are generally high in months of vember, December and January," he told PTI.

total population of Munroe Thuruth has shrunk to just around 8,000 in recent years as several people have left due to verse environmental and living conditions, Jayachandran, also a block panchayat member, said.

Around 2,000 families continue to live in this cluster of islands fighting all se versities, he ded.

re have been incidents of people dying as y could t be taken to hospital on time due to lack of transportation facilities, he said, ding that country boats are still only mode of transport in many wards to ferry patients to hospitals and children to schools.

Binu Karunakaran, former panchayat president of Munroe Thuruth, said island witnessed gravest situation in last two years as high tide, "veliyettam" in local parlance, lasted for seven continuous months.

"Several wards of island panchayat have been facing exit of local residents in a larger way and situation is very severe in at least three wards like Pattam Thuruth, Kidapram rth and Kidapram South," he told PTI.

island was formed through deposition of "ekkal" (sediment) from Kalla River and constant inundation and waterlogging might have me clay softer, causing it to lose bearing capacity which may be reason for submerging of building foundations and flora, resident said.

Besides land and houses, livelihood options like farming are also slowly disappearing in island.

"Coconut was main crop in region. Inter-crops were also re. But, w coconut farming is almost over. I myself planted over 1,500 plantains and farmed chembu (Taro), chena (Yam) and so on before but thing is left w," Karunakaran ded.

Meanwhile, eminent climate expert Chandra Bhushan opined sea level rise due to global warming could be a reason for unusual high tide and consequent submergence of land in Kerala island.

sea level increase in Indian Ocean is higher than global aver and in some coastal areas rise is as much as 2.5 mm per year, he said.

"Sea level rise can certainly be attributed to increase in high tides. sea level in Indian Ocean is rising... rise in Indian Ocean is one of highest in world. So, naturally, when water level is high, tide level is also higher," he told PTI.

He felt changes in sea bed could also be a possible reason for phemen.

"One of things that tsunami did was to erode sea. In certain places, it eroded sea bed and in certain places it deposited a lot of sediments. Changes in profile of sea bed can also le to higher tides," Bhushan, CEO of New Delhi-based iFOREST, ded.

Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal, who me several interventions in past to support suffering islanders, said it was difficult to find solutions for issues of Munroe Thuruth alone as it was part of world-wide phemen of global warming and climate change.

Before construction of Kalla Dam, sediments used to get deposited in huge quantities in island during floods but it has decreased in recent years, he said.

"So, in such places, what we can do is to apt to changing circumstances and find sustainable solutions to overcome issues being faced. We can also support natives to revive ir livelihood means with available potential resources," he told PTI.

As it attracts a large number of tourists, sustainable and region-friendly tourism means can be developed to get a stey income for islanders, he said.

Possibilities of "amphibian houses" and "light weight" constructions, using thin building articles, can also be explored as a solution for submerging phemen as tritional houses are largely seen going underwater in recent past, he ded.

Located some 25 km away from Kollam town, Munroe Island is named after British ministrative he of erstwhile Travancore kingdom, Colonel John Munroe.