Rebuilding the islands to build Greater Cochin.

Port-related activities have always fuelled Kochi's growth as the commercial capital of Kerala. The old Cochin Port, which was a natural harbour, was created following the floods in the Periyar River in the 14^th century. Fort Kochi and Mattancherry were the major marketplaces when Cochin pursued trade relations with the different parts of the world as a colonial port city. On its eastern side lies the Vembanad Lake, and on its western side lies the Arabian Sea. A modern port was made in the first half of the 20^th century on the human-made Willingdon Island, which lies between Mattancherry and the mainland. There are several small and large islands lying nearby that contributed the labour force needed for the harbour and marketplaces. People from these islands would travel in their small canoes to the Mattancherry town to find a day’s labour or to sell their agricultural products in the market. The decades after independence have witnessed a gradual decrease in port activities and income. Ernakulam City, which is part of the mainland and lies east of Mattancherry, gained its importance as a city centre simultaneously. The islands that lie west of Ernakulam city continued to contribute the labour force the city needed for its expansion. They depended on the city for accessing other services like higher education, health, etc. Several boat services were plying between Ernakulam city and these islands. It includes the boat services by the Kerala State Water Transport Department (KSWTD) as well as by several private agencies.

Figure 1: The Goshree bridge connecting the mainland Ernakulam city to the islands

The cluster of islands in the Cochin backwaters includes Vypin, Vallarpadam, Bolgatty, Mulavukadu and Kadamakkudy. Besides the job opportunities the city offered, these islands largely depended on a local economy based on agriculture and fishing. Pokkali is a paddy variety which was widely cultivated in these islands, as it could survive the high tides and salinity. Prawn farming was also done in these same fields simultaneously, which increased the productivity of the fields. Fishing from the lake was a major source of daily food supply for most of the families. Chinese fishing nets (called cheena vala in colloquial language) and Oonnivala were used to catch fish.

Those who don’t own these nets, mostly the Dalits, who work as agricultural labourers, used to catch fish with their bare hands. And thus the population here would qualify as the ‘ecosystem people’ (Gadgil 2023). The lives of people living in these islands changed in the 2000s with the construction of the Goshree bridges. Three bridges connected these islands with the mainland city, Ernakulam. The city was expanding towards these islands, and the flow of capital investment became easier. Several large projects were implemented in these ecologically fragile islands after the bridges were built. This includes the IOCL LPG Terminal at Puthuvyppu, the International Container Transshipment Terminal at Vallarapdom, the International Convention Centre at Bolgatty and several other bridges. All the big projects faced acute resistance from the local population. This article explores the transformation of a few islands following the construction of roads and bridges connecting these islands.

Container Road and Rail Corridors

Figure 2: Container Road which starts from Vallarpadom and passing through the islands of Mulavukadu, Moolampilly, connecting International Container Transshipment Terminal at Vallarpadom to other National Highways in the state

It was in 2011 that an International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT), the first in the country, was commissioned at Vallarpadom, an island north of Willingdon Island. It was under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. The Government of India has invested half the cost of the project through the Cochin Port Trust for this Rs.3200 crore project. And the other half was invested by the Dubai Ports World (DP World), a multi-national logistics company. National Highway 966 A, a 17 km-long highway, was built to connect the ICTT to the other national highways passing through the state. A railway link of 8.86 km long at a cost of Rs. 370 crore was built for the transportation of goods to and from the terminal. It consists of a railway bridge across the Vembanad Lake, 4.62 km long, that qualifies as the longest rail bridge in India. The environmental cost of the bridge is huge. Regardless, the bridge remains grossly underutilised. Only one train plied the route every week, till when the train operation was halted just before the COVID-19 outbreak. This was partially because the Vallarapdam project couldn’t attain its expected potential. Now, it remains non-functional. But the cost paid by the local population was huge. Around 316 families were evicted for the road and rail corridor projects.  And to date, the rehabilitation package, which was announced 18 years ago, has not been implemented completely.

Figure 3: Railway link across the Vembanad lake, built to carry goods to and from the International Container Transshipment Terminal at Vallarpadom, which remains non-functional

Land was acquired by the state government in 2008, and it has faced acute resistance from the population who were going to be evicted in the Mulavukadu and Kadamakkudy panchayats. After a 40 days long protest, the evicted families were promised 5-6 cents of land in a rehabilitation site. They were promised employment at the terminal. The monetary compensation offered was very nominal. The state government has identified 7 rehabilitation sites in total. Among them, land in the 5 sites was reclaimed from the river or marshy lands. A site which was allocated for more than 100 families in Thuthiyoor, a place located in the eastern direction of Ernakulam city, was found to be not suitable for construction. Because of the marshy nature of the land, the two houses built there have developed cracks and slanted sideways. The rest of the families didn’t take the risk to build their houses with the hard-earned money on this land. As of now, only 52 families have built their houses under the rehabilitation package, and nobody has been given employment at the terminal. The rehabilitation package doesn't have any legal backing, as the land was acquired under the Land Acquisition Act of 1894. And because of this, the evictees are subjected to ill treatment from the bureaucracy. The police and revenue officers had to face the backlash from the evictees back then, and this has created an antagonistic relationship between the evictees and the bureaucracy, says the Convenor of the struggle committee. Ten families on Moolampilly Island, which is part of the Kadamakkudy Panchayat, were forcefully evicted from their homes in 2008. Since then, Moolampilly has been the name used to mark the eviction and the resistance by the people in the context of the Vallarapdam project.

Similar to the experience of places where big infrastructural projects are implemented, the land value in these islands increased manyfold. The land price at Moolampilly was Rs. 3 lakhs per cent during the eviction, but the families were paid only Rs. 26000 per cent. Currently, the land price has reached up to 25 lakhs. Several individuals and companies from outside these islands were interested in buying land there, expecting land value appreciation. This has led to a demographic change in the islands nearby, even where the container road does not pass through.

Placing islands in the tourist map

Figure 4: Scenic view of Pizhala island from the top of Pizhala - Moolampilly bridge

Pizhala is a small island which lies next to the Moolampilly island. Latin Christians, Kudumbis and Pulayas inhabited the island. Ferries connected the island to Moolampilly and from there to the mainland. They depended on the markets in the mainland to sell their agricultural products. In case of medical emergencies, they had no other option than depending on the ferries. A bridge, of 750 meters,  was built in 2020 connecting the island to Moolampilly. The Pizhala-Moolampilly bridge helped them to reduce their journey to the mainland city into a few minutes. Those who work as daily wage labourers in the other parts of the city found it easy to come back after finishing their daily tasks. But a major portion of the local population has left the village after selling their land. And recently, the small islands in the Kadamakkudy Panchayat, including Pizhala, have become a site of local tourism.

It was in 2013 that the Goshree Development Authority (GIDA) planned a Rs. 20 crore project to connect these islands. Pizhala -Moolampilly bridge, which was part of the project, was completed in 2020. Since then, the bridge and the islands are frequented mostly by couples and friends to experience the splendid view of backwaters in the background. Many eateries have opened in Pizhala to cater to these new visitors. Focusing on the issue of form, or the poetics of infrastructure, allows us to understand how the political can be constituted through different means (Larkin 2013). In this context the political unraveled in myriad ways. Xavier is the former President of Kadamakkudy Panchayat and a resident of Pizhala. He has lived his whole life there, stayed after the bridge was built and has witnessed the changes happening to the island. “When I was part of the Kadamakudy panchayat administration, I tried to get a copy of the container road alignment. We were concerned whether the road would pass through our island. But I couldn’t manage to get a copy. Later, some outsiders, representing a company, visited this region in a boat. They were looking for suitable land for the company. I saw that they had a copy of the alignment with them. They and many others bought several pieces of land on the sides of the container road, before the project was implemented”. Xavier is a farmer and owns 8 acres of land on the island. He still cultivates the Pokkali rice in his fields. But many among his acquaintances have sold their farm land to outsiders. He pointed at the land on the other side of the river, which is on Moolampilly Island, and said that it was once a paddy field. A retail dealer of a car company and a retail textile shop owner have bought the land and converted it illegally, since they were influential. The agricultural land in Pizhala, too, is bought by outsiders, and this has become a hindrance for those who want to continue farming. This is in resonance with the general trend in Kerala, where the low-lying paddy fields and wetlands are being converted for real estate purposes (Raj, P.P and Azeez 2009).

Figure 5: Pizhala - Moolampilly bridge frequented mostly by couples and friends to experience the splendid view of backwaters in the background

The development of Pizhala had a different meaning in the past decades, said Joseph, who runs a tea stall near the bridge. “It meant the development of the agricultural and marine resources of the region. It meant the development of a market for the agricultural products within the island. But these days, development only means the construction of bridges and roads.” A lot of corruption is involved in these projects, as was heard during the fieldwork. The building up of Greater Cochin, thus has transformed these islands which were earlier self-sustaining. The Greater Cochin is now a meshwork of various forms of infrastructure creating space and demand for more such forms, on the ruins of what once was.

Neethu Das is a PhD Scholar in Sociology at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi. Her research interest lies in the speculative land market and its social implications in Greater Cochin, Kerala.