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No land filling on sinking Monroe Thuruthu in Kollam district

The ban seeks to avoid further damage to the ecologically fragile area.

Kollam: The Kollam district administration has ordered a ban on land filling in the Monroe Thuruthu panchayat based on a report by an expert committee including earth scientists on the sinking of the island after the tsunami that hit the Kerala coast in 2004. The Thuruthu, which is a collection of eight islets spread over 13 square kilometers of ecologically fragile area, has a crisscross network of canals and watersheds. The filling of land even for public transport systems has resulted in the submergence of low lying areas during high tide.

According to the study, the construction of roads and byroads on this fragile land has resulted in filling of the canals and water-logged areas over the last few years. The areas in Monroe Thuruthu marked as house plots in the official records of the village office are actually small water-logged islets. This filling by acquiring permission on the pretext of constructing houses has inadvertently affected the livelihood of fishermen and coir workers who constitute a majority of the 13,000 people residing in these islets. The Revenue Divisional Officer has therefore banned filling of land in Monroe Thuruthu village and has warned of penal action under sections of the Kerala Minor Mineral Concession Rules (KMMC) and Criminal Procedures Act.

The tidal flooding has resulted in destroying coconut cultivation and buildings including houses as a result of saline water logging in the island. This has also resulted in environmental issues which might cause the islands to disappear permanently with the rise of water in the surrounding Ashtamudi Lake. The ban seeks to avoid further damage to the ecologically fragile area.

The islands were found to have been permanently submerged over 1.25 meters in the last few years, inundating several areas in Monroe Thuruthu village.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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