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Showing posts from November, 2021

COCHIN: At Present

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  Urbanization: Current Scenario in Cochin Cochin is the commercial capital of Kerala.   It is the most promising growth-oriented development region in the state of Kerala. A collection of small islands, a large peninsula, and the mainland collectively made up the modern city of Kochi. The city of Kochi is located along the central coast of Kerala in Ernakulam district. Developments in the city and the surrounding area have taken a fast stride in the last two decades. The Information Technology Institutions at Kakkanad, the International Airport at Nedumbassery, the new bridge linking Vypeen islands to the mainland, and the high impact residential and commercial developments in the city and the surrounding areas have caused direct and indirect development impacts in many sectors. The newly proposed metro project, the high-speed rail corridor, smart city project, and the Vallarpadam container terminal project will enhance the growth of Kochi. Fort Kochi, located on a penin...

Rapid Urbanization: Effects of Health

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  Rapid Urbanization: Increasing Health Issues   Cities  are known to play multifaceted functions in all societies. They are the heart of technological development and economic growth of many nations, while at the same time serving as a breeding ground for poverty, inequality, environmental hazards, and communicable diseases.  When large numbers of people congregate in cities, many problems result, particularly for the poor. For example, many rural migrants who settle in an urban slum area bring their families and their domesticated animals—both pets and livestock—with them.  This influx of humans and animals leads to vulnerability of all migrants to circulating communicable diseases and the potential to establish an urban transmission cycle.  Further, most urban poor live in slums that are unregulated, have congested conditions, are overcrowded, are positioned near open sewers, and restricted to geographically dangerous areas such as hillsides, riverbanks,...

Queen of Arabian Sea

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KOCHI Kochi was formerly known in English as  Cochin  is a major port city on the Malabar coast of India bordering the Lakshadweep Sea, which is a part of the Arabian sea it is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. Kochi is the  most densely populated city  in Kerala. It has a corporation limit the population of 677,381 within an area of 94.88km 2  and a total urban population of more than 2,1 million within an area of 440km 2  making it the largest and the most populous  metropolitan area  in Kerala. It is known as the financial, commercial, and industrial capital of Kerala. It has the highest GDP  as well as the highest GDP per capita in the state.  It is one of the major tourist destinations in India.  HISTORY Kochi merchants began trading in spices such as black pepper and cardamom with the Arabs, Dutch, Phoenicians, Portuguese, and Chinese more than 600 years ago. This helped Kochi to prosper an...

Kochi: Iraveli Slums

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Iraveli Slums Iraveli, one of the wards in West Kochi, has a number of slums. The condition of the four main slums Thashkent, Panan, Thuruthy and Konchery remain pathetic. Most of the residents of the area are labourers who work in the fishing sector. According to M S Girish, councillor of Iraveli, much work has been carried out in these areas. “A number of public toilets have been built and many have been renovated.  Development activities have also been carried out utilising the People’s Planning fund. In all, 105 houses were built under the BSUP scheme. Another 16 houses were built using the JNNURM fund. The lighting problems in the area and the road renovation works were solved to an extent using the division fund.” He says that 63 families were rehabilitated under the multi-housing scheme using various funds. These families were rehabilitated in the Iraveli from the Kalvathy slum area. Councillors from both areas claim to have worked for this scheme. “An Area...

Kochi: Air Quality

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  Cochin city: Prone to Air Pollution   Kochi City is a fast-growing industrial region where mounting civilization and urbanization have been affecting abruptly in diminishing the air quality of these atmospheric environments. Hence a systematic investigation has been undertaken to carry out the quality assessment emphasizing six transition sectors which are prominent sites with distinct topographical features covering the entire estuarine, riverine, and coastal regions of the Cochin Aquatic System.  The study recorded that one of the riverine sites (R2) is exponentially showing enrichment in SO2 concentration which can be speculated for severe industrial emissions and this site can be described as the “Hot Spot Realm”. The enrichment of NO2 portrays the pollution source through vehicular emissions. Regarding the temporal trend, vagueness exists throughout the analysis more than the spatial allocation trend. It is reflected from the analysis that both climatology and...

Water Scarcity

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  WATER SCARCITY IN KOCHI   Water could be a disabler to the growth of Kochi if self-reliance is not achieved. The recent growth of Kochi as an economic hub and its inclusion in the Smart Cities project is anticipated to attract additional migrating populations from different parts of the country. A consequence of such developments will be the increased demand for water to meet the basic needs of a growing population. These issues pose a real threat to the urban water security of Kochi. Some of these issues include the increasing gap between the demand and supply of water, water loss in the distribution network, groundwater depletion, groundwater contamination due to unsafe sanitation and unscientific solid waste management, salinity intrusion to inland area decrease in the flow of the Periyar river, localized floods due to improper stormwater management, etc Water need and water availability are not proportiona...

Eloor: The Toxic hotspot

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A POISONED RIVER MEANS A DYING POPULATION The Periyar flows around the 14.21 sq. km island of Eloor, which includes the Eloor-Edayar industries belt, most of which was developed between 1950 and 1970 as the largest industrial belt in Kerala. Right now, the region has the highest agglomeration of chemical industries, bone meal factories, and tanneries in the state. For the residents of Eloor, daily life has become difficult owing to pungent air, contaminated water, and dead fish floating in the river. Many have migrated to safe places and those who stuck to their soil remain victims of environmental pollution. They have lost hope that things would change. Though they still plead with officials to improve their living conditions, the unholy nexus of industrial mafia and those in power make sure that their privileges remain the same. There is no one to take action. Trade union l...

Rapid Urbanization

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  Rapid Urbanisation: Heat Island Formation As Kochi transforms into a concrete jungle with increasing urbanization, it also has its own " Urban Heat Island ", a term used to denote the unusual heating up of urban areas owing to excessive built-up area and infrastructure. Urban Heat Island (UHI), a measure of the near-surface air temperature contrast between urbanized and adjoining rural areas, is the most pronounced effect of urbanization. The heat island is an example of unintentional climate modification when urbanization changes the characteristics of the Earth’s surface.  In a recent study where scientists of the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur used satellite images to examine land-use change in Kochi and 9 other metropolitan cities in the country, it was found that the urban area of Kochi had shown a "Substantial increase and spread" between 2001 and 2013. The scientists also noted that K...