Veeranpuzha വീരന്‍പൂഴ is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

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 is the northern extension of

Vembanad Lake Vembanad is the longest lake in India, as well as the largest lake in the state of Kerala. The lake has an area of 230 square kilometers and a maximum length of 96.5 km. Spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Ve ...

. From Kochi Azhi to

Munambam Munambam is a suburb of Kochi, India at the north end of Vypeen Island, surrounded by the Arabian Sea on the west, Periyar river on the east, and a mouth of the sea on the north. The main occupation of its inhabitants is fishing. Munambam is ...

Azhi, the Vembanad lake is popularly known as "Veeranpuzha". In the early 1980s there were regular ferry services from Munambam to

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...

. The area has large paddy fields devoid of human habitation. Non-availability of fresh water is a reason for lack of dense human settlements. Veeranpuzha was also known as Kadakkarakkayal കടക്കരക്കായല്‍

Pokkali cultivation

The saline tolerant Pokkali rice is cultivated in the fields gathered around the banks of Veeranpuzha. Pokkali uses a cyclic organic cultivation method. As the salinity level of the water in the fields is low, the rice cultivation starts in June and harvesting starts in November. After the harvesting ends, from November to April, the salinity level gets high in the water. At this time, prawn farming starts in the fields. There are openings in the

sluice gate Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

s from the lake to the field. Through these openings, the prawn seedlings swim into the field from the sea and the lake after the rice harvest and consume the stem remains of the harvested crop. Recently, many Pokkali farmers of Veeranpuzha are leaving farming and migrating to other industries as farming has become unattractive and unprofitable.

Local tourism

Many local tourists visit Veeranpuzha mainly for

angling Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techniqu ...

during rainy season. Some water-front tourism festivals are being organized in recent times mainly to attract foreign tourists.

References

{{Tourism in Kerala Lakes of Kerala