Bharathappuzha

Course

The headwaters of the main tributary of Bharathapuzha originates in the Anaimalai Hills in the Western Ghats, and flows westward through Palakkad Gap, (also known as Palghat gap) across Palakkad, Thrissur and Malappuram districts of Kerala, with many tributaries joining it, including the Tirur River. For the first 40 km or so, the Bharathappuzha follows an almost northerly course till Pollachi near Coimbatore. At Parli, the Kannadipuzha and Kalpathippuza merge and flow as Bharathappuzha, following a westerly course until it empties into the Lakshadweep Sea at Ponnani. At Mayannur, Gayathripuzha merges with the river. The Thootha River merges with the Nila at Pallippuram. As the Thootha River is rich in water, after its merger, the Nila becomes thicker in flow.

The river is not navigable along most of its course except the small stretch where it joins the sea. With a watershed of 6,186 km², the Bharathapuzha basin is the largest among all the river basins in Kerala. A little more than two-thirds of this area (4400 km²) is within Kerala and the remaining area (1786 km²) is in Tamil Nadu. Though Bharathapuzha has a large basin, the water flow is relatively less compared to other long rivers in Kerala because a large portion of the basin is located in the comparatively drier regions (Tamil Nadu and Palakkad Gap). The construction of a number of dams after independence has also reduced the river flow. In fact in the summer months, there is almost no flow in most parts of the river. The river is the "Nile" of Kerala and has the name Nila also. The Bharathapuzha is the lifeline of many cities and villages: Chittur-Thathamangalam (in Chittur, Bharathappuzha is known as "Sokanasini"; this name was given by Thunjathu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan), Kodumbu-Thiruvalathur, Palakkad, Parli-Kottayi, Mankara-Perigottukurissi, Lakkidi-Thiruvilwamala, Killikkurussimangalam, Ottappalam, Shoranur, Cheruthuruthy, Chelakkara, Pattambi, Thrithala, Thiruvegappura, Kudallur, Pallipuram and Kumbidi. The village of Parudur, including the town of Pallipuram, stand near the confluence of this river and the River Thootha or, simply, Thuthapuzha.

Irrigation projects

The Bharathappuzha is extensively dammed. There are 11 reservoirs along the course of the river, and two more are under construction. Malampuzha dam is the largest among the reservoirs built across Bharathapuzha and its tributaries. Other dams in the Bharathapuzha basin are Walayar Dam, Mangalam Dam, Pothundi Dam, Meenkara Dam, Chulliyar Dam, Thirumoorthy, Aliyar, Upper Aliyar, Chitturpuzha regulator and Kanhirappuzha Dam. Most of these reservoirs serve the purpose of irrigation only. A total area of 773 km² is irrigated by these irrigation projects. One irrigation dam at Chittur in Attappadi Hills is under construction. The construction of these two dams will increase the area irrigated by another 542 km². Another major project is the Regulator cum bridge at Thrithala built on the Velliyankallu bridge. The bridge connects the two villages Pallippuram and Thrithala. The main objective of the regulator is drinking water supply. The water supply projects towards Thrissur district has already started. The shutter height of the regulator is 5 meters, and it can contain a huge quantity of water. Also the new bridge reduces the distance from Thrissur to Kozhikode by 11 km. This project is the largest in Bharathappuzha in last many decades. Fish species once thought to be almost extinct have come back remarkably due to the increased water level during summer. Special note is to be made on the species called 'Vaala' considered to be the king of fresh water fishes. Individual 'Vaala' weighing 5 to 10 kg are now common.

Cultural significance

Bharathappuzha is the lifeline of Kerala's cultural map. Kerala Kalamandalam, which is a major center for learning Indian performing arts like Kathakali, Koodiyattam and Ottamthullal, is situated at Cheruthuruty on the banks of this river—in Thrissur district. The birthplace of famous Malayalam satire poet and founder of the Ottamthullal art form, Kunchan Nambiar, is located at Killikkurissimangalam near Lakkidi, again on the banks of the Nila.Tholpavakoothu (around 65 temples are situated in the banks of river Nila) is a unique shadow puppet play mainly performed in the Bhadar Kali temple in the malabar region Leading Malayalam writers who were born along its banks include M. T. Vasudevan Nair, M. Govindan, V. K. N., O. V. Vijayan and M. Sukumaran. Late poet P. Kunhiraman Nair, a native of north Malabar, drew literary inspiration from the scenic beauty of the landscape along the Bharatapuzha. There are a number of famous Hindu temples like Thiruvilwamala Temple, Thirunavaya Navamukunda Temple, [[Chamravattam Ayyappa Temple]] and Panniyur Sree Varahamurthy Temple on the bank of Nila.

Legend says that those cremated on the banks of the Bharathappuzha achieve salvation. It is also one of the important places in the state where the sons pay homage to their late fathers by conducting a Pithru Tharpanam ritual on the Karkidaka Vavu day. Some of the famous persons cremated here include literary personalities like O V Vijayan and VKN.

Degradation

The river went through a series of challenges which saw its degradation that has reached a point of no return. People started making the river dirty and left it in the mouth of death. Bharathapuzha is now dirty because of the actions of we human beings. The river gets lifeless due to we human beings. The river water got dirty and it is currently not potable. Until a few decades back the river used to flow effortlessly during even intense summer. However, due to the sand mining in the last 30 years, the thick sand bed has been completely vanished and has been replaced with grasses and bushes which has become an environmental catastrophe. At the peak of the sand mining period of the mid 1990s at least 40-50 lorries carrying tons of pristine sand was a common sight at each 'kadavu' (entrance to the river) of the river every day. Considering the hundreds of the 'kadavu' throughout its length, the amount of sand mined in these years is unimaginable. Today, with almost no sand in many parts of the river, people have started mining sand from underwater which has become a profitable business for many.

Challenges

The river now faces significant challenges for its survival. It is predicted that the river may change its course due to the obstruction of the tall grasses and bushes that has grown in the river. Illegal sand mining mafias are very active and the nexus between the politicians, bureaucrats and these mafias make it extremely difficult to stop this. Organisations which were once very active have now gone on hibernation due to the threat posed by them. Environmentalists have predicted dire consequences and the untimely death of the river within the near future.

Social networking sites like Facebook have active groups with a purpose of saving the river named as Bharathappuzha Samrakhshana Samithi.

Actions required for saving the river

Environmentalists suggest the followings actions for saving the river.

Tributaries

Sorted in order from the mouth heading upstream.