Kuttanad: Difference between revisions
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Crops grown in Kuttanadu include [[rice]], [[banana]]s, [[casava]] and [[yam (vegetable)|yams]]. |
Crops grown in Kuttanadu include [[rice]], [[banana]]s, [[casava]] and [[yam (vegetable)|yams]]. |
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<ref><br />Insert footnote text here<br /><sup>Adsaqdgdqedqdb</sup></ref>== Divisions == |
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== Divisions == |
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The Kuttanad region is broadly classified into three divisions: |
The Kuttanad region is broadly classified into three divisions: |
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Revision as of 05:51, 5 September 2009
Kuttanadu in Kerala, India, is the region with the lowest altitude in India, with 500 square kilometres of the region below sea level. Its elevation ranges from 0.6 m above to 2.2 metres below sea level. Most of the area is covered with water throughout the year. Kuttanadu is one of the few places in the world where farming is carried out below sea level. The Greater Kuttanad region spread across the districts of Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, and Kottayam. The Lower Kuttanad region itself has a population of 1.8 million and comes under the Alappuzha district.
Four major Kerala rivers, the Pampa, Meenachil, the Achankovil and the Manimala flow into Kuttanadu.
Crops grown in Kuttanadu include rice, bananas, casava and yams.
[1]== Divisions ==
The Kuttanad region is broadly classified into three divisions:
Lower Kuttanad comprises taluks of Ambalapuzha, Kuttanad (excluding Edathua, Thalavady and Muttar), and the northern half of Karthikapally taluk in Alappuzha district.
Upper Kuttanad comprises Veeyapuram village in Karthikapally taluk, Edathua, Thalavady, Kidangara and Muttar in Kuttanad taluk; Chennithala village in Mavelikkara Taluk, Mannar, Kuruttissery, Budhanur, Ennakkad villages in Chengannur taluk of Alappuzha district; and Parumala, Kadapra, Niranam, Pulikeezhu, Peringara, Chathenkeri, Nedumpuram, villages of Tiruvalla taluk in Pathanamthitta district.
North Kuttanad comprises Vaikom taluk, western parts of Kottayam taluk, and western parts of Changanacherry taluk in Kottayam district.
Villages
A few of the major villages which form Kuttanadu are: Ramankary, Kaipuzha, Kumarakom, Edathua, Mampuzhakkary, Neelamperoor, Kainadi, Kavalam, Pulincunnoo, Kannady, Veliyanadu, Veeyapuram, Vezhapra, Kunnamkary,Kumaramkary,Valady, Kidangara, Mithrakary, [Muttar], Neerattupuram, Thalavadi, Changankary, Champakulam, Nedumudi, Moonnatummukham, Melpadom, Payippad, Karichal, Ayaparambu, Narakathara, Venattukad, Kayalppuram, Mankompu, Chathurthiakary, Manalady, Koduppunna, Thayankarry and Pullangadi among others.
Paddy Cultivation
The major occupation in Kuttanadu is farming. Rice is the important agricultural product, giving Kuttanadu the moniker of "The Rice Bowl of Kerala". Three crops are grown every year now instead of the traditional two per year. Large farming areas near vembanad Lake were actually reclaimed from the lake. The king decreed that whoever reclaims land from water can own it leading to massive redemption of land from the lake. Many enterprising farmers took up the challenge. Out of them Joseph Murikkummoottil (Murikken Outhachen) is considered to be the most outstanding. He did cultivation in a very large extent of reclaimed area and achieved such a success that he was crowned as "Krishi Rajan" (farmer king) by the then prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru.
As the farming in the area increased farmers felt themselves constrained by the two cycles a year for rice cultivation. The reason for which is the limited availability of potable water in Kuttanadu. During the monsoon seasons, the water from the mountains flow through the rivers to the sea, bringing potable water to Kuttanadu. But during summer, due to the low level of the region, seawater enters Kuttanadu and makes the salt content of the water high making it unpotable.
Thanneermukkom Bund
During 1968, government of India proposed a project, in which a bund (Dam) will be made across the river so that seawater will not be allowed to come inside Kuttanad during summer, allowing farmers to cultivate an extra cycle per year. The project was planned in three phases, the south side, the north side and another phase to join the two sections. The project was delayed and by the time the first two phases were complete the entire money allotted for the project ran out and left the final phase in limbo. The farmers who were expecting lots of financial benefits after the completion of the project decided to take matters into their own hands and one night in 1972, a large group of farmers filled the gap between the north and the south side with earth. To this day, the earth embankment between the two sections of the bundh remains.
Even though the bund has improved the quality of life of the farmers, the bund is alleged to have caused severe environmental problems. The backwaters which were abundant with fish and part of the staple food of the people of the region require a small amount of salt water for their breeding. The bund has caused deterioration of the catch of fish in the region and the fishermen are opposed to the bund as of 2005. The bund has also disrupted the harmony of the sea with the backwaters and has caused problems not foreseen before the bundh like the omniprescence of the water weeds. Earlier the salt water tends to cleanse the backwaters but this does not happen any more leading to the pollution of the backwaters and the entire land nearby.
Cultural Personalities
Kuttanad is known for its contributions to the field of Malayalam literature and cinema besides the classical dance-drama of Kathakali. Jnanpith-winning novelist, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, hailed from Kuttanad, so is late Malayalam poet K. Ayyappa Panikkar. Scholar-folklorist Kavalam Narayana Panikkar and his musician son Kavalam Sreekumar are natives of this place, so was late filmmaker John Abraham. Renowned film actor Nedumudi Venu too hails from this belt. Another famous film personality hailing from Kuttanad is filmmaker Vinayan.
Among the leading Kathakali exponents from Kuttanad today are Mankompu Sivasankara Pillai, Mathoor Govindankutty, Thalavadi Aravindan and Kalamandalam Shanmughan. Its Kathakali masters of earlier days include Mathoor Kunhukunhu Pillai,Mankulam Vishnu Nambuthiri, Champakkulam Pachu Pillai,Guru Gopinath, Pallippuram Gopalan Nair, Harippadu Ramakrishna Pillai, Chennithala Chellappan Pillai and Ambalappuzha Sekhar. Dr.Aju K.Narayanan, Lecturer in Malayalam, U.C.College, Aluva published a research book on the Buddhist Cultural Heritage of Kuttanadu- Alappuzha.
Politics
Kuttanad assembly constituency was part of Alappuzha. After the Lok Sabha delimitation in 2008 it now belongs to the Mavelikkara constituency.[2]
See also
References
- Thirst Below Sea Level, M Suchitra, The Hindu, 2003-07-15
- ^
Insert footnote text here
Adsaqdgdqedqdb - ^ "Assembly Constituencies - Corresponding Districts and Parliamentary Constituencies" (PDF). Kerala. Election Commission of India. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
External links
