And for a Friday in Trivandrum with Kerala slowly recovering from Century’s Worst Floods….. some thoughts…..
Whomever I met in Kerala, irrespective of Political lineages, all are Unanimous that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was the Face of the Kerala Fight back. He led from the front, marshaling all resources, empowering his District Collectors and officers on the Ground, Communicating on Mass Media at very regular intervals every day and night of the crisis and travelling to all Flood affected areas. Let us not forget that he was scheduled to leave on 19th August for his Cancer treatment to the USA. Instead he stayed put in Kerala to lead from the front. He only just left on September 2. May we all pray for his speedy recovery and early return from US.
If the CM was the leader, the ikon for the Kerala Rescue Operations was undoubtedly Fisherman Jaisal. The photo of him offering his back to enable old women and children enter the Rescue boat stepping on his back as support went viral across the globe and covered by all major TV news. He truly symbolised the combined efforts of all Keralites to help each other irrespective of caste, creed, religion or social status. It also showed symbiotic relationships between the IT Techies, the Fishermen, students, the Youth, the Power of Grit, Endurance and Resilience.
The biggest damage could be in Kuttanad – a region covering parts of Alappuzha and Kottayam districts – the Granary of Kerala. An UN Food and Agriculture World Organisation recognised Agricultural Heritage system consisting of 900 Sq kms of Delta region where paddy cultivation is done 4 to 10 feet below sea level. KBSFS (Kuttanad below Sea level Farming Systems) is practised in India only in Kuttanad. The farmers are specialist in handling the Ecosystem of Four Major Rivers, Coastal backwaters, Marshes, Ponds, Bunds, Edges and remarkably networked Waterways. The Big Rivers Pamba, Meenchil, Achankoil and Manimala flow into the Region. Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) had developed the Kuttanad package as a Model Farming System for Climate change Adaptive Schemes. We need all technical expertise and finances to restore this region to its deserved glory.
As Indians worldwide have acknowledged, let us not just “Rehabilitate and Reconstruct”, let us build a new Kerala, a better Kerala, on sound principles of Sustainability, the Ethical way, the united way, the SEEGOS way.