Much water has flown through the Vijayam Canal between 1968 and 2021. A recent study by the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (Kufos) to convert the coastal village of Chellanam into a model for the State describes how many of the smaller canals have lost their links to the once arterial, flourishing and sparkling Vijayam Canal.
The Kufos study compared the condition of the canal for the period between 1968 and 2021.
Built a hundred years ago, the canal provided a free-flowing course to water from the torrential monsoon rain. Looking at the canal in its centenary year, it is a poor reflection of how human intervention has derailed old plans.
