Conservation Of Commons
Pilot intervention at Chathanad Colony
April 2018
In the need for decentralized and context-specific sanitation solutions, a pilot intervention was made on Chathanad Canal, which was once a major pollution hotspot, addressing the issues of waste management and improper sanitation systems. Chathanad canal having a length of about 1.51 km was chosen for pilot intervention due to its homogeneous character (residential area) and since it is a socially sensitive area. The civil and household surveys in the pilot ward were carried out by civil engineering students from local engineering colleges (Cochin University College of Engineering, Kuttanad) and a survey protocol was developed. The Consortium for DEWATS Dissemination (CDD Society) and NEERI was roped in to develop a technical solution to deal with wastewater pollution in the Chathanad canal. Based on the analysis, it was decided to focus on specific pollution hotspots, i.e Municipal Colony, Chathanad which lacked improved sanitation facilities. Sanitation and canal cleaning campaign to clean and reclaim the canal commons, building sanitation infrastructure with an integrated solid and liquid waste management systems such as individual toilet facilities and DEWATS, transforming community toilet into students’ study space, beautification campaign of Colony and canal with the help of local artists were done as part of this intervention by which Chathanadu colony got a complete facelift.
Muthalapozhi- reclaiming an estuarine canal system
An intervention in Muthalapozhi, an estuarine water body passing through three densely populated wards on the western side of Alappuzha – Mangalam, Kanjiramchira, and Vadacanal wards was to ensure the continued health of the ecosystem and retain the cleaned state. The aim of the project was to reclaim the existing Muthalapozhi and to prevent further pollution across the water body. A systemized plan to carry out decentralized waste management across the watershed was thus devised. Institution building activities were carried out across all wards of Muthalapozhi to sensitize residents towards canal pollution and gather the support of Kudumbasree, the local women’s self-help collective after which a plastic collection campaign was commenced according to the HKS model pioneered by CANALPY.
Powam Thodu Canal Rejuvenation
A pilot intervention for flood mitigation was carried out in “Powam Thodu” of Kuttanad, as a collaborative project with Nedumudi grama panchayath and Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishath(KSSP). The main objective was to bring back the water draining capacity of the canals and bring back the utility of the canals through social engineering and participatory campaigns. The 2 km stretch canal, which wasn’t desilted for 10 years was decongested and brought back to life through social engineering and a participatory campaign. Social interventions were carried out by mobilizing residents alongside the canals with the help of the panchayat by addressing the relationship between the local flood and the conjunction of canals. CANALPY developed a plan to decongest the canals through a participatory process with the support of the panchayath. The Canals were decongested and the entire process was documented. From the collected data and the feedback received through stakeholder interviews, it was proven that the process has the capability to scaling-up. The social and cost benefits of this program show its potential for the entire Kuttanad region.
Decongestion plan for canals of Alappuzha and Nedumudy
The canal decongestion process was scaled up in the entire Nedumudy grama panchayath. A Map prepared with OSM tracked details of the canal network was the first step in carrying out a civil survey of the canals to prepare a plan for decongestion.The civil survey collected data like measurements of the canal, reduced levels of canal bottom and canal bank, sludge quantities, encroachments, canal sidewall details, flow direction, etc Among 35.4km canal length, 15km of length has been surveyed till now. This work has been completed as an internship program by participating civil engineering students from colleges in the Alappuzha district. At the request of Alappuzha Municipality, a georeferenced plan of the subcanal network of Alappuzha town was prepared by the CANALPY team. This was accompanied by a decongestion plan for the whole network which could be incorporated into the Municipality plan. A similar protocol as followed in Nedumudy was also followed for this exercise, with the help of the OSM tracker. The exercise was carried out by M.Tech students from CTARA, IIT Bombay along with participating civil engineering students.
Pilot project at Thumbooram Padashekharam- An alternate bund construction strategy
The Thumburam padashekharam is 135 acres of paddy fields surrounded by canals on all sides. The CANALPY team was able to propose a project which looked at mitigating the effect of flooding by decongesting the canals and constructing outer bunds using local manpower, thus ensuring that livelihoods are generated within the community itself. This is along the model of the pilot at Powam thodu which was done earlier. Additionally, the team along with the help of CUCEK college also proposed the construction of a 3.5 m wide road on top of the bund which is a pioneering model using geotextiles. This method avoids the excessive quarrying which comes from regular stone bund and road construction while at the same time generating demand for local coir products.
