| Farmers, Yethadka, Kasaragod |
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Every year
the farmers in Yethadka fund and build check dams at close intervals in the
course of river Shiriya to save their crops and enhance the water yield of
their land.
Called ‘kattas’
in local parlance, 16 of these structures, along with 5 others built by the government,
act as speed breakers of water in a stretch of 20 km of the river. While the ones built by the government
agencies through contractors leave many things to be desired, the one built by
the academic illiterates stand firm without letting even a drop of water seep
through them.
These kattas
have a hoary history dating back to 70 years.
And the workers who build these structures consider it a sacred task. They do not wear footwear while constructing them.
Yethadka
produces arecanut, coconut, pepper, cocoa, rice and nutmeg. These crops are irrigated by the water from kattas
during the summer months. In fact,
without these water retaining structures, Yethadka would not be, says a local
journalist.
The largest
of these is 40m across the river and 4m high.
Till recently, the workers used to pack granite stones using clay. As it was labour intensive, they now stack
sandbags against the granite and protect the sandbags with HDPE sheets.
As monsoon
approaches, they remove the kattas for permitting free passage of water. They keep the sandbags protected by the
riverside for reuse next year.
The
government has two drinking water projects with about 400 beneficiaries. That water for these two projects is siphoned
from the kattas built by farmers at Kottelu and Nerapady itself speaks of the
ripple effect of their effort.
George Poikayil (text), The New Indian Express, March 19, 2021
