Ernakulam’s coastal population is hit by tidal flooding

Fishermen are one of the communities most affected by tidal flooding. Vipeen’s scene. |Picture source: H. Vibhu

Families affected by frequent and growing tidal flooding along local objects along the coast of Ernakulam district have reason to cheer for it, as they are now allowed to seek relief from property damage caused by this phenomenon.

They were asked to use the relevant rural office regulations to prepare for the examination to apply for relief. Upon receipt of the application, the village and local agency authorities will verify them and will determine the relief based on this verification. At least 29 local agencies in the region are affected by tidal flooding, and the number of applications may involve thousands of people.

“The region has witnessed unprecedented off-season tidal flooding this year. [KSDMA]. We have started receiving applications.

The move came shortly after a meeting held in the Panchayat region in January, where representatives from 20 affected coastal Panchayats were determined to call for tidal flooding to be included in the state and national disaster list. Ezhikkara and Edavanakkad Panchayats have passed similar resolutions and forwarded them to the state government a year ago.

Initially, the move was mitigated only in affected local institutions in Vypeen after the local Mla Kn unnikrishnan intervention. Later, other representatives, including Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden, raised similar needs for the entire affected coastal extension and wrote to the local body chair, urging them to take the necessary actions to ensure that all qualified individuals benefit.

“All except two of the 14 wards have been affected by tidal flooding, and we are expecting at least 100 applications, though we have received only 22 so far. Our panchayat was the first to hold a special grama sabha on the issue of tidal flooding and pass a resolution demanding that it be declared a disaster,” said KD Vincent, former president of Ezhikkara panchayat, who was instrumental in organising the special grama sabha.

However, KSDMA sources believe that viewing tidal floods as disaster will be almost impossible to solve the problem and urged local agencies to allocate their own funds for the long-term and medium-term mitigation plans. “We need to recognize that people will have to retreat from some areas, while others can mitigate coastal flooding. This is a scientific study that finds lasting solutions by identifying the most affected families in each ward,” the source said.

Equinect CEO CG Madhusoodhanan, a Kochi-based community-made modeling solutions provider that has been at the forefront of the fight against tidal flooding, said he hopes it will be the first step to declare tidal flooding, announcing the tides suffering, which will promote faster measures such as compensation, compensation, mitigation and temporary measures, including temporary timing and temporary measures. “We have been asking for this over the past three years, citing the impact of tidal flooding on about 12,000 hectares of land, including Pokkali Farms, among more than 20 local bodies, and land degradation at the critical Ramsar site,” he said.