The Kerala Backwaters: A Trip down Centuries

The Kerala backwaters always evoke images of an exotic tourism destination where one takes a lazy boat ride through the green countryside of Kerala. High-end resorts offer dream packages for the same. Little do people realise that these backwaters have been the lifeline for local people for centuries. These waters are used by local people as the key trade route as also for their daily needs of water for cooking, drinking washing, fishing and agriculture. While we did a wonderful 24 hours at the beautiful Vasundhara Sarovar at Vayalar, the eye-opener came the next day on a field trip to Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala. A one and half hour cruise through the backwaters would bring us to Kuttanad. It is only during this time that you understand the complexity of this ecosystem. Along the Malabar Coast, on the shoreline of the Arabian Sea is a network of brackish lakes and lagoons connected by natural and man-made canals. This network covers over 900 km of waterways and is fed by 38 rivers. As we take the cruise the evidence of local use is there to see. Besides, the tourist luxury boats are large barrages that carry produce, boats that transport children to school and small individually navigated boats as personal transport.  The Kuttanad region has within intertwined water canals, wide-spread agricultural fields that include paddy, banana, cassava and yam. It is a fascinating system where crops are cultivated in the low-lying areas and irrigated by freshwater from waterways and canals. This was the worse hit area during the recent floods when agricultural fields were inundated with salt water. While local people do benefit from tourism, there is now some disquiet as tourism becomes overwhelming. We left with a bad taste with the parting statement one of the locals who said, “Even the fish is tasting of diesel these days’. Will tourism kill this beautiful ecosystem?