Thrissur: A study by Kerala State Council for Science, Technology & Environment has found out that that nearly 50 per cent of wetlands and paddy fields in Thrissur district have been reclaimed in the last 30 years. The Council also mapped the entire area of wetland remaining. According to the study, there were 734.32 sq km of wetlands in the district in 1970s. This has come down to 381.29 sq km now. The study was conducted with the help of Survey of India Topographic Maps, satellite maps, Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing Technology (RS). According to the Council, Kole fields, mangroves and paddy fields in rural areas came under the broad category of wetlands.
Of this, the paddy fields in the inner rural areas are the one mostly reclaimed. The reclamation was mostly found in Puthur, Chelakkara, Pazhayanur, Thekkumkara and Nadathara panchayat and within Thrissur Corporation. In rural areas, the wetlands have been reclaimed mostly for constructing houses, while flats, industrial buildings and shopping malls have been built reclaiming wetlands in the urban areas. The construction of new bunds and roads has also adversely affected the wetlands. The study also found that most of the paddy fields lying close to town areas were hugely polluted and have been lying barren for several years. Dr Roby T.J., post doctoral fellow with the Council, who is associated with the research, said that the increase in population and decrease in the share of land per individual were leading to building of houses on small plots in even rural areas.
