THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The fear of having to witness the flooding waters swallow their paddyfields had made the farmers near Punchakkari in the district dread the rains. The farmers under the five polders (‘puncha padasekharam’) around Vellayani are, however, not much anxious this time. After a gap of 22 years, the restoration of a canal here, the Kannukalichal, has raised their spirits. Kannukalichal is born out of the Vellayani freshwater lake and flows to the Karamana river, from where it flows to the sea. However, the runoff water, without percolating to the fields, had become stagnant over the years, thanks to the thick vegetation on its sides, the aquatic weeds, the erosion of bunds and the heavy silt. It overflows to the fields during rains, destroying the cultivation. The farmers’ plea to restore the canal had largely remained unheard. Finally, the District Panchayat, spending Rs 3 lakh and with the support of the ‘padasekharams’ here, has cleaned the canal, the work of which was completed last week.‘’Once in a while, the Minor Irrigation officials prepare a project and clean some 700 or 800 metres. The water percolation was not happening smoothly, which was why it used to overflow to the fields during rains. Almost 22 years have passed since the canal has been cleaned this way,’’ says P Sudhakaran, convenor of the Pandarakari padasekharam committee.There are five ‘padasekharams’ on the banks of the Vellayani lake - Pandarakari, Punchakari, Mankilikari, Kanjirathadi and Nilamekari. History says that during a severe famine, the Travancore rajah, who had his summer palace at Vellayani, had allowed the farmers to reclaim some portion of the lake for agriculture. However, in the late 1990s, water woes reigned over the region and paddy cultivation took a backseat.The Agriculture University later gave all support for paddy cultivation in this area and in some 600 acres spread across five ‘padasekharams’, cultivation continued. But during rains, all labour is lost in the overflowing waters. The restoration of the canal has lifted the spirits of the farmers in the ‘punchapadams’ here. At Pandarakari, there is cultivation of vegetables, plantain and other crops, all round the year. The other four are dedicated to paddy cultivation.The Kannukalichal canal is 2.5 km long and stretches from Vellayani reservoir to Madhupalam at Punchakari. ‘’From Pandarakari, vegetables reach the capital city. The Horticulture Department procures vegetables for sales from here. It is a great relief that the canal has been cleaned; it could make a lot of farmers confident,’’ says Sudhakaran. The District Panchayat is all set to call a meeting of the ‘padasekharams’ at the end of this month to discuss spreading of farming to more areas here. ‘’The restoration is not fully done, but the canal has been cleaned enough to enable water percolation. The panchayat wants to support paddy cultivation in the district, which is why we undertook the cleaning,’’ said Rufus Daniel, District Panchayat vice-president.
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