The present condition of the Pullukayar river at Koottickal, the water level of which has plummeted to a historic low, is emblematic of a region in the midst of an extreme weather situation.
As Central Travancore endures a searing summer with the temperature level hovering around 37 degrees Celsius, water level in the Manimala, the Meenachil and the Pampa rivers – which together feed most parts of the region – has already hit the bottom in several locations. Most tributaries of these vast rivers have ceased to flow, reducing to a series of green, stagnant weir pools.
“The water level in these rivers, which were in spate till December, has gone down sharply, with the upstream areas already reporting a shortage of drinking water. The spells of summer rain have not been adequate to revive the water flow. The situation in the western parts, including Upper and Northern Kuttanad, is not rosy either where access to clean drinking water has always been a problem,’‘ noted an official of the Irrigation department.
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