Thrissur-Ponnani Kole Wetlands (Malayalam: തൃശൂർ-പൊന്നാനി കോൾ പാടങ്ങൾ) is a wetland lying in

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

and

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of including the surrounding suburban areas. The first municipality in the district formed in 1970, Malappuram serves as the administrative headquarter ...

districts in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It gives 40 per cent of the

’s rice requirement and acts as a natural drainage system for

Ponnani Ponnani () is a municipality in Ponnani Taluk, Malappuram District, in the state of Kerala, India. It serves as the administrative center of the Taluk and Block Panchayat of the same name. It is situated at the estuary of Bharatappuzha (Riv ...

city,

city, Thrissur District, and

Malappuram district Malappuram (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of . It is the most populous district of Kerala, which is home to around 13% of the to ...

. The Kole Wetlands is one of largest, highly productive and threatened wetlands in

and it comes in

Central Asian Flyway The Central Asian Flyway (CAF), Central Asian-Indian Flyway, or Central Asian-South Asian Flyway is a flyway covering a large continental area of Eurasia between the Arctic Ocean and the Indian Ocean and the associated island chains. The CAF compri ...

of migratory birds. Journey of bhagavathi By ManojK

History

From 18th century onwards, rice cultivation in Kole lands is said to have been started. But the

Kole lands recorded rice cultivation dates back to 1916 only.

Geography

The word ''Kole'' is a

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

word, and means that a bumper yield. It is a particular cultivation method adopted in wastelands in

and Thrissur District from December to May which otherwise is submerged from June to November, half of the year. The Kole wetlands lies between 10° 20' and 10° 40' N latitudes and 75° 58' and between 76° 11' E longitudes. The Kole wetlands are low lying tracts located 0.5m to 1m below Mean Sea Level (MSL) and remain submerged for about six months in a year. Kole lands in

are spread over eight blocks. The average annual rainfall is 3,200 mm and temperature varies from 28°C to 31°5°C. The Kole Wetlands cover an area of about 13,632 hectares spread over Thrissur district and

. The area extends from

Chalakudy River Chalakudy River or Chalakudy Puzha is the fifth longest river in Kerala, India. The river flows through Thrissur district, Palakkad district and Ernakulam district of Kerala. The total drainage area of the river is 1704 km2. Out of this,1 ...

in South to Bharathappuzha River in the North, and to

Taluk. The Kole Wetlands acts as natural drainage system for

city and Thrissur district through a network of canals and ponds which connects different parts of Kole Wastelands to Enamavu river,one of the smallest River in Kerala, Canoli Canal, Chettuva River and then to the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

. It is fertile with

Alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

soil which is deposited

Kechery Kechery is a town in Thrissur district , Kerala, India. It is 16 kilometers away from Thrissur and 7 kilometers from Kunnamkulam. The great hindu pilgrim center Guruvayur temple is 11 kilometres away. History Kechery is a place which has its o ...

and Karuvannoor river in the monsoon.

Fauna

In terms of the number of birds, the Thrissur Kole Wetlands is the third largest in

after

Chilika Lake Chilika Lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the Puri, khordha and Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over . It is the bigge ...

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

and Amipur Tank in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. It has been recognised as one of India's Important Bird Areas by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

. According to studies, there are 241 species of birds like

spot-billed pelican The spot-billed pelican (''Pelecanus philippensis'') or gray pelican is a member of the pelican family. It breeds in southern Asia from southern Iran across India east to Indonesia. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially larg ...

darter The darters, anhingas, or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae, which contains a single genus, ''Anhinga''. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and ...

Oriental darter The Oriental darter (''Anhinga melanogaster'') is a water bird of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. It has a long and slender neck with a straight, pointed bill and, like the cormorant, it hunts for fish while its body is submerged in water ...

black-headed ibis The black-headed ibis (''Threskiornis melanocephalus''), also known as the Oriental white ibis, Indian white ibis, and black-necked ibis, is a species of wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae which breeds in the South and Southeast As ...

painted stork The painted stork (''Mycteria leucocephala'') is a large wading bird, wader in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. Thei ...

black-bellied tern The black-bellied tern (''Sterna acuticauda'') is a tern found near large rivers in the Indian subcontinent, its range extending from Pakistan, Nepal and India to Myanmar. It has become very scarce in the eastern part of its range and the Intern ...

cinereous vulture The cinereous vulture (''Aegypius monachus'') is a large raptor in the family Accipitridae and distributed through much of temperate Eurasia. It is also known as the black vulture, monk vulture and Eurasian black vulture. With a body length of , ...

and

greater spotted eagle The greater spotted eagle (''Clanga clanga''), occasionally called the spotted eagle, is a large bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Its feathered legs indicate it is a member of the subfamily Aquilinae ...

. Fishes like ''

Caranx ''Caranx'' is a genus of tropical to subtropical marine fishes in the jack family Carangidae, commonly known as jacks, trevallies and kingfishes. They are moderate- to large-sized, deep-bodied fishes which are distinguished from other carangid g ...

'',

Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest verte ...

mangrove red snapper The mangrove red snapper (''Lutjanus argentimaculatus''), also known as mangrove jack, grey snapper, creek red bream, Stuart evader, dog bream, purple sea perch, red bream, red perch, red reef bream, river roman, or rock barramundi, is a species ...

, ''

Megalops cyprinoides The Indo-Pacific tarpon (''Megalops cyprinoides''), also known as the oxeye herring or simply herring due to its superficial resemblance to the true herrings, of which it is not a member, is the smaller of the two species of tarpon and lives in ...

'' and

barramundi The barramundi (''Lates calcarifer'') or Asian sea bass, is a species of catadromous fish in the family Latidae of the order Perciformes. The species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, spanning the waters of the Middle East, South ...

are also found in Kole Wetland. Sunrise over the Pullu Padam with a Morning drizzle

Bird's Nest Thrissur Kole Wetlands DSC 5179

Threat

The main threat to Kole Wetlands is expansion of cities and towns like city of

. The boom in construction industry, especially the real estate business in Central

, has rung the alarm bell for the Kole wetlands. Coconut cultivation, construction of buildings and houses, conversion of fields for sand and clay mining and brick kilns, hunting of wetland birds are the main threats for the Kole wetlands. Fresh

water shortage Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity is where ...

and quality of water due to water intrusion from the Canoly Canal has been reported from various parts of Kole wetlands in Thrissur district.

Kole Development Agency

Farming Thrissur Kole Wetlands DSC 5193 7360

The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

has approved Rs 425-crore project for the comprehensive development of

Kole fields. The fund will be used for infrastructure development, construction of bunds, canals, roads, farm mechanisation in Kole fields. At the Rs 15 crore a research centre would be set up to study the Kole land development. The

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

has formed a Special Purpose Vehicle for the implementation of the Kole development project and the District Collector of

is designated as special officer to coordinate implementation of the package. For the implementation of the project,

has opened an agency known as Kole Development Agency (KDA) in Thrissur City on 30 June for the development of Kole farming. Thrissur District Collector is the special officer to implement the project.

Gallery

Image:Edappal malappuram(district) kerala infia.jpg, A view of

paddy field A paddy field is a flooded field (agriculture), field of arable land used for growing Aquatic plant, semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in sout ...

from

Edappal Edappal is a town which lies near to the town of Ponnani in Ponnani taluk, Malappuram district, Kerala, India. Edappal is at a junction of two roads Thrissur-Kozhikode and Palakkad-Ponnani state highways located from Malappuram. Edappal lies ...

, Ponnani taluk,

Image:Adat Ombathumuri Paadam Thrissur DSCN0887.JPG, A view of

from Thrissur district Image:Beeyam Kayal River near Athani.jpg, A view from Athani,

Image:ഒമ്പതുമുറി പാടശേഖരം 1.jpg, A board which announces the citizen to protect the birds. A view from Thrissur district Image:Kerala Houseboat (191490747).jpeg, The Biyyam backwater of

, is located on the bank of Kole Wetlands. Image:Irrigation at paddy land DSCN0550.jpg, A view of paddy field from Thrissur district Image:Light house in Ponnani.jpg,

Bharathappuzha Bharathappuzha ("River of Bhārata"), also known as the Nila or Ponnani River, is a river in India in the state of Kerala. With a length of 209 km, it is the second longest river that flows through Kerala after the Periyar. It flows throu ...

, the second-longest river of Kerala, merges with

at Ponnani port, near the Kole Wetlands. Image:Thanikkudam - Paddy farms.jpg, A view of paddy field from Thrissur district Image:Adat Ombathumuri Paadam Thrissur DSCN0862.JPG, A view of paddy field from Thrissur district Image:കൊയ്ത് കഴിഞ്ഞ പാടം.jpg, A view of paddy field from Thrissur district

References

External links

{{South Malabar Wetlands of India Geography of Malappuram district Geography of Thrissur district Protected areas of Kerala Tourist attractions in Malappuram district Tourist attractions in Thrissur district Landforms of Kerala 2002 establishments in Kerala Protected areas established in 2002 Bharathappuzha