PLANNING FOR INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT OF INLAND WATERWAYS IN ALAPPUZHA DISTRICT, KER ALA STATE

Abstract

Kerala state is blessed with Inland water ways which includes rivers, lakes and backwaters. Water transportation is one of the least developed sector in the state even though it has enormous potential. The research question which helped to structure the thesis is "How the development of Inland waterways can res it/is into the development of livelihood ofpeople who are staying in low lying areas with canals, backwaters and stream networks India has number of waterways which includes rivers, backwaters and canals and it is stretched about 14.500 km. Even though the Inland water Transportation is cost and fuel efficient with enormous potential on different water based activity, Water way development has done only in few waterways. Local made boats of different capacities are also being operated in various rivers and canals in India. Even though the use Inland water Transportation is been declined for the past few decades with the development of rails and roads there hasn't been any development in this structure. There is less infrastructure development attention to Inland water transportation is given by the concerned authorities. IWAl (Inland waterways Authority of India) was established in the year 1986 as the statutory body by government of India. It has the responsibility on the development of inland water Transportation for the passenger as well as the freight transportation. Various policies are made for the development of Inland water development. Also various plans are formed in the Five year plans to develop the Inland waterways to boost the freight transportation through inland waterways. Government of India has taken various initiatives for the revitalization of 1W of the country for improving its economic reliability and efficiency to make it as compliment to other transportation modes such as rail and road system. Government has created National waterways for development of inland water ways which has more potential and viability. There are policies on 1W which encourage the FDls for the development of IWs with the modern technologies. V Another important Policy, is to bring the involvement of state government in 1W development. Alappuzha district has taken as the study area. For the analysis of the thesis the whole dissertation has divided into two based on the research question such as Inland water development . Livelihood development For the study of Inland water development whole district is taken as the study area and for the study of livelihood of people the study area is limited to Kuttanad Region which are low lying region with backwaters, canals and streams. Roth primary and secondary data has been used for the study purposes. Rouse hold survey of sample size 100 has done in Kainakary Panchayath has helped to understand the living standards of people living in Kuttanad region and to know about how the livelihood is linked with water/water based activities. Questionnaire survey has done with the ferry passengers from different boat jetty stations of Alappuzha helped for the study of water transport of the region and how much it is efficient. Also some opinion survey was done tourists (foreign as well as domestic) to know about the efficiency and success of backwater tourism in the region. Secondary data from various source are used for the study. GIS Spatial analysis is used to give the proposals for inland water way development. a vi INLAND WATER DEVELOPMENT Inland water transportation I I Ecological environmental development PassengerTransportation I [rgoTransPortation FBackwater tourism Passenger Transportation Public passenger transportation of the region is mainly controlled by SWTD (State water transportation department). Utilizing the primary and secondary data spatial analysis of existing routes of SWTD has done. From the questionnaire survey done on the passengers it is found that that the existing trips by SWTD is not efficient. Using the carrying capacity fonnula, economic viability and passengers convenience nev trips are formulated by GIS spatial analysis. Backwater Tourism According to state Planning Board Report Tourism contributes about 9% of total of the gross domestic product and thus Tourism plays an important role in the development of Kerala's economic growth. An investment of Rs12 lakh can create 89 jobs in Tourism, whereas in agriculture it is 45 jobs and in manufacturing it is 13 jobs for the same investment. According to the Kerala Tourists statistics 2013 Foreign exchange from Tourism for the year 2013 is Rs: 5560.77crore which is an increase of 21.63 % over the previous year and Foreign Tourist arrival to Kerala during the year 2013 is 8, 58.143 It shows an increase of 8.12 % over the previous year's figure of 7, 93,696. Total Revenue (including direct & indirect) from Tourism during 2013 is Rs: 22,926.55crore, which is an increase of 12.22% over the last year. Tourism in Kerala provides direct and indirect employment for I million people in Kerala and contributes Rsl000crore every year to the investment pool of the economy. Domestic House boat tourism in Alappuzha district is increasing for the past decade and it contributes about 70% of the House vii boat Tourism in Alappuzha district. ). In Alappuzha and Kottayam districts the total number of registered house boat number exceeds 1000. This indicates the tremendous growth of House boat industry which is started 20 years back with 20 boats. House boat tourism is concentrated in and around Vembanad Lake region. From the spatial analysis done on the houseboat routes it is found that in some routes the number of the houseboats exceeds the carrying capacity. There are so many routes in Alappuzha district itself which are not utilized for the tourism activity. So in order to spread the network effectively with less damage to environment and ecosystem new routes have been proposed also by proposing 1-lop on- Hop off tourism linking the important tourist spots of the district. Houseboat tourism is affecting the environment and ecosystem of the Vembanad Lake. The pollution from the houseboats is the sewage from toilets, oil from engines, plastic wastes and food wastes. Pollution caused by the sewage can he measured by the number of total coliform bacteria in water. So proper STP at jetty stations are also proposed. Livelihood of Kuttanad Region Kuttanad is known as the Rice Bowl of Kerala due to its huge production of rice. Occupational structure of Kuttanad region is deeply rooted in Agriculture. Agriculture and cultivators together account population more than 50% of the working population in the region. In Kuttanad region paddy cultivation is practiced paddy canals which are bounded by canals. A large population Kuttanad region also engaged in fishery and Clam shell collection. Houseboat tourism is affecting the environment and ecosystem of the Vembanad Lake. The pollution from the houseboats is the sewage from toilets, oil from engines, plastic wastes and food wastes. Pollution caused by the sewage can be measured by the number of total coliform bacteria in water. From the household survey done in the region it is found that 4% of the sample population is affected by the skin diseases, 3% by cholera, 2% jaundice and .5% cancer. The region is more prone to water borne diseases because of its pollution. So strategy plan is proposed for the effective development of Agriculture and fishery sector. Waterway development with pollution control mechanism will have positive impact on agriculture fishery and health. Development of Inland waterway will also generate the employment and it can helps in the economic development of people. VIII In water logged areas of Alappuzha district the Livelihood is depends on the water and water based activities. In some areas of Kuttanad water transportation is the only means of transportation. Effective development of water transportation helps in the easy commutation of people in water logged region. Waterway development can helps in the sustainable development of livelihood in Kuttanad region. Tourism also generates employment to those people living in Kuttanad region directly and indirectly. If the tourism sector develops with proper technology for waste and sewage treatment it will have positive impact on the livelihood of the Kuttanad. Integrated development of waterways can results into the sustainable development of livelihood in waterlogged region.