സമുദ്രനിരപ്പിനടിയിലെ കൃഷിയിടങ്ങൾ !

 Farms below sea level!

 Satellite map viewers are often intrigued by the triangular and quadrangular landscapes of Vembanad Lake. Since it is man-made, some people may have zoomed in to find out what this land, which lies close to each other in exact geometric shapes, looks like.

 Kottayam and Alappuzha districts are bordered by Kuttanad, the southernmost part of the Vembanad Lake. Backwaters are the fields where paddy and coconut are grown.

 In ancient times, all these areas were deep lakes that were open. As the Meenachillar, Koduvar, Manimalayar and Pampa rivers became shallower with the deposition of loamy soil from time to time, they started cultivating paddy by taking bunds from the east respectively and the backwaters receded. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the kings of Thekkumkur, Vadakkumkur and Chembakassery started cultivating the other three parts by holding a bund and using a wheel to carry water. As the trade relations with the Dutch East India Company were strong in these countries, it must be assumed that the Dutch influence may have contributed to the adoption of this technology. This is how the areas where the Ekkal was deposited and turned into backwaters could have been turned into agricultural lands. Most of the agricultural lands in Upper Kuttanad and in Lower Kuttanad such as Velianad, Kumarankari, Mankomp, Chathurthakari, Kainakari, Pulinkunnu, Kavalam, Cherukara and Kainadi were formed before the 18th century.

 Later, waterlogged cultivation was started by tying earth bunds on all four sides of the lake itself. This system was started in the late nineteenth century by a farmer named Pallithanam Mathai Luke, a native of Kainadi. Later, his son Luke Mathai of Pallithanam and some other farmers dug a large lake. Ramakrishna Panikkar and Iravi Kesavapanikkar dug some backwaters in Kavalam Chala and Chala. CJ Kurian, a native of Kottayam, and many others, including Thomman Joseph of Murikummoottil, cultivated paddy in the backwaters. Murikkana, on the other hand, cultivates the backwaters of Chithira, Marthandam and Rani in the deep central part of the Vembanad Lake with the help of a German pump. Murikkan carried out this mission on the instructions of the government to solve the food shortage in Travancore.

 Many people have crossed the Vembanad Lake by boat, boat or puravanchi. Not everyone realizes that each land is part of the vast lake that Pandora once opened, and that the lake they pass through, which looks like streams or rivers, is the rest of the lake. During the journey, many people did not pay attention to identify the lands on both sides by their name. This is an introduction to the Kuttanad backwaters, which are one of the rarest and most geographically unique in the world. It will be easier if you look at the map and understand each one.

 Venadukadu Lake is a paddy field which was cultivated under the leadership of Matthew Luco at Pallithanam in Kainadi from 1862 to 1872. Situated on the western tributary of the Manimalayar, west of Pulinkunnu, the lake covers an area of ​​537 acres.

 The Math on the north side of Venadukadu lake is divided into two parts, the height and the depth of the lake. The lake has a total of 600 acres in the monastery. It was also formed in the church in 1862-1872 as a result of the efforts of Matthew Luke. The Venattukari (200 acres) paddy field is located to the south of this.

 Situated on the southern tip of Kumarakom, the Metran Kayal was converted into a cultivable land in 1888 on the instructions of the Malankara Metropolitan, Pulikottil Mar Divanasiosi (II) for the purpose of the old seminary at Kottayam. This brings the total to 406 acres. A few years ago, it was reported that the government had intervened to stop some private individuals from trying to misuse it for tourism projects and resumed farming. This farm is also known as Seminary Lake.

 Cherukara, Pallithanam and Rajapuram lakes are found in a single block north of Kavalam and west of Kainadi. These were inoculated and cultivated between 1898 and 1903. After the death of Matthew Luke, he was stabbed by his son Luke Matthew and his brother Matthew Ouseph in the small backwater church just west of Kinady. It covers an area of ​​473 acres. At the same time, Pallithanam Lake (250 acres) on the west side of Cherukara Lake was dug by Luke Matthew at Pallithanam.

 Rajapuram Lake (626 acres) on the eastern tributary of the Manimalayar, just west of the Pallithanam Lake, is a farmland dug by hairdressers and herdsmen in the Kavalam canal from 1898-1903. The lake was renamed as Raja Ramapuram Lake with the permission of Raja Rama Rao, Diwan Peshwar of Kollam Division. Today it is known as Rajapuram Lake. The place where Diwan Peshkar landed by boat from Alappuzha for the first sowing is known as Diwanmoola.

 Mangalam Lake (979 acres) is located west of Kavalam. The lake was excavated during the period 1898-1903 under the leadership of Govindapillai. The Sreemoolamangalam Lake (560 acres) between Pulinkunnu, Venadukadu and Mangalam Lake was excavated by the Watchaparambil people of Pulinkunnu during the period 1898-1903. The lake is named after the Maharaja of Travancore, Sreemoolam Thirunal. There is a large body of water in the south called Vattakkayal which remains completely as a lake. Pulinkunnu is located in the western part of the panchayath, near Kayapuram. Kayapuram has a lot of tourism potential.

 Mathikayal (511 acres) was occupied by Ramakrishna Panicker at Kavalam Chala from 1898 to 1903. It is divided into two parts, South Enough and North Enough.

 The Cherukali backwaters adjacent to Kainakari cover an area of ​​271 acres and the six-acre backwaters cover an area of ​​523 acres.

 The process was halted for the next ten years after the British ordered a ban on backwater cultivation. They argued that this would affect the viability of the Cochin port. But in 1912 the ban was lifted. Then the second phase of the backwater began. Attempts were made to encroach on the relatively deep parts of the lake this time.

 (Bastow, an Englishman who was the Chief Engineer of Travancore, later designed the backwaters to be excavated.

 Chaco Anthony and Pavuthra Panikkar converted the 659-acre C-Block backwaters east of Punnamadakkayal and north of Kainakari into arable land in 1913.

 As early as 1913, Vallikattu under the leadership of Matthew Ouseph captured the backwaters between Mathikayal and Rajapuram lakes and made them cultivable. The 558 acre lake is named as D - Block South.

 D-Block North (616 acres) in the north of the south was excavated in 1913 by Tommy Ouseppe and Watchaparambil. It is also known as Attumukham Lake.

 D-Block Puthen (646 acres) was dug in the north-western part of D-Block in 1913 by the Thevarkattus.

 D - Block On the north-eastern side, there is a large open lake. To the east of this is the largest E-block in the backwaters. Covering an area of ​​2400 acres, this backwaters is commonly known as 24,000. The E-Block was set up in 1913 by Luka Mathai at Pallithanam and Krishna Iyer at the palace by CJ Kurian, a prominent Christian community leader and planter in Kottayam, on the other side of the hill (across the road).

 Kuruthikkalam on the lake is located at the confluence of E-Block and Kainadi village. It is said that during the colonial period, criminals were imprisoned inside a teak hut and lowered into the lake.

 F-Block (628 acres) east of the E-Block and south of the riparian lake is also known as Judge Six Thousand Backwaters. It is located west of Chinganam. The G - Block is a collection of about 215 acres of land adjoining the Kurichi area. To the southwest of this is the Akkanadi course collection.

 So far, the backwaters on the south side of the old canal, which runs in a straight line from Kottayam Pallathu Puzhukkanila Lake to Punnamadakkayal in Alappuzha, have been described. Let us now talk about the backwaters in the north. These backwaters were formed after 1917.

 H-Block and R-Block are in second place after 24,000. The H-Block (1511 acres) was erected on the church grounds in 1917 by Luke Mathai, Watchaparambilkar and Pazhayaparampilkar.

 I-Block (370 acres), a small farm between H-Block and Puzhukkanila Lake, was cleared in 1917 by Pius Ouseppe in Kunnathussery.

 The J-Block (908 acres) was cleared in 1917 by CJ Kurian. This collection is known as Nine Thousand. The eastern part of the nineteenth century is the Malarikkal and Thiruvaikkari course collections that were cultivated centuries ago. These course collections are located near the falls of Meenachilar. Starting from Kilirur, the Neelithottu, which falls into a ripe state, flows northeast to the south for 9,000 km. In the middle of it, you can see the remains of a fort in the south that existed three hundred years ago. The J-Block was the part of the lake that was open at the time to the west of the creek.

 Blocks K and L lie to the west of J-Block, south of Thiruvarp and Kumarakom and north of H-Block. The K-Block (661 acres) to the east is known as Marankayal. The L-Block (145 acres) is very small and protrudes like a wedge into the church pond. Hence it is also called Appukayal. The Kottayam-Alappuzha waterway joins the northern bank of the Maran-Appu backwaters. The backwaters were excavated in 1917 under the leadership of CJ Kurien.

 The MN-Blocks lie on the north side of Maran Lake along the western fields of Thiruvarp Panchayath. M-Block has 276 acres and N-Block has 261 acres. These backwaters were made cultivable in 1917 by CJ Kurian.

 The R-Block (1590 acres) was the forerunner of paddy cultivation in the backwaters. The R block was left fallow for years as paddy cultivation was destroyed due to failure of irrigation systems and coconuts were destroyed due to stagnant water. Skullless coconuts can be seen in the R block today. Once upon a time, the highest quality coconuts in Kerala were produced here.

 The third phase of backwater cultivation started in 1942. On the instructions of the Maharaja of Travancore, Sree Chithira Thirunal, under the leadership of Thomman Joseph, three backwaters were dug out of the middle lake to alleviate the food shortage in Travancore during the Second World War. The backwaters just west of the R block are known as Q-BLock (654 acres) or Marthandam backwaters. It was named in memory of Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the youngest king of Travancore.

 S-Block (573 acres) or Rani Lake is located to the north of Marthandam Lake. The lake is named after Sethu Parvatibhai of Travancore.

 T-Block (730 acres) or Chithirakayal, located north of R Block and east of Rani Lake, is named in memory of Maharaja Sree Chithira Thirunal of Travancore. In the south-west corner of Murikan Chithirakayal, a medium-sized church was built for the workers engaged in backwater digging. The church, which was closed without any worship, is now a historical monument.

 Thiruvaikkari is a paddy field located east of Malarikkal area and west of Muttam-Pallam area on the north side of Puzhukkanila lake. The Meenachil River flows side by side in the north and Koduvar in the east. It was formerly the Pandarapatta land of the Poonjar dynasty. Bhagwati Temple is a famous big house located on a central islet in the south of the Thiruvaikkari Padasekharam. The temple is dedicated to the concept of a single mammal. As it matures, it is very close to the iris.

 The Kottayam Alappuzha Waterway and the Kumarakom Kottayam Waterway meet at the open lake called Pallikkayal. The waterway connecting the Monroe Lighthouse at Punnamada in Alappuzha and the Monroe Lantern at Pallakkanila in a straight line from east to west is considered to be an ancient ship channel. It was through this channel that the ship sailed to the ancient port known as Kodiyur. The discovery of timber that appears to be part of the ship from various parts of the Thiruvaikkari Padasekha sheds light on its historical potential.

 Pallikkonam Rajeev