Site Alternatives

Waterway from Mahe – Section

Study Area

The portion from Mahe to Valapattanam is discontinuous in three portions. Three artificial cuts are required to be constructed for obtaining a continuous waterway in this section. The discontinuous portion between Mahe and Erangoli river is considered as first cut, Eranjoli river and river/Anjarakandy river is considered as second cut and the portion between Anjarakandy river and Valapattanam river is considered as third cut. The approximate discontinuous length for each of these cuts is 9.25, 0.85 and 15 km respectively.

A team from NATPAC along with officials from Waterways Infrastructure Limited (KWIL) and Inland Navigation Department (IND) made site visits in all of these portions to identify the suitable alternatives for all these cuts. A minimum of three alternatives are considered in this study. The team conducted detailed site visits with the help of maps and local dwellers. The factors considered for the selection of alignment is as follows.

 Utilizing available rivers/ Thodu/ canal thereby reducing the land acquisition.  Minimum resettlement  Considering low lying areas for maximum water depth in the canal  Smooth alignment with less curves  Minimum high elevation/tunneled portions in the alignment  Lesser proximity to the High Tension Lines.  Availability of water  Avoiding cultivated area  Minimum impact to environment

The team with experienced professionals considered the alignment based on the above factors with suitable weightage in accordance to the site conditions.

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Features of the waterway

The waterway was proposed with an ROW of 60 meters including the service roads in both sides. Wherever a high cut portion is present, the ROW is increased to 80 meters. It is proposed to develop this waterway as a Class 1 waterway and the length of the largest vessel is limited to 28.5 meters. According to the standards, the minimum radius of the waterway is 4 times the length of the largest vessel. The minimum radius was fixed to 130 meters.

First Cut

The discontinuous portion from Mahe and Eranjoli river is considered as first cut. Three alignments were considered for the first cut, in which the first two alignment share majority of its path. The alignment was first drawn using Google earth connecting the comparatively low elevation areas and avoiding highly populated areas. After drafting the alignment, the team visited the field the field for confirming the details obtained from the maps and checking the feasibility of the particular alignment. Necessary changes were done on all the alignments.

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Mahe River

Eranjoli River

Alternative 1:

This alternative was considered utilizing relatively low elevation areas. The length of this alternative is 9.3 km and it mostly pass through plain terrain. The alignment is considered along the residential, marshy and agricultural areas. The alignment passes along Olavilam, Marwa, Sameeghar,Vayalilpeedika,Mannekara,Makkuni regions. The elevation of along the alignment varies from 5- 35 metres, where majority of the alignment falls in between 10-20 m elevation.

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The alignment starts from the Mayyazhi puzha near Peringadi utilizing the low lying areas and crosses the – road in between Menapram and Pettipalam. (3-14 m) The alignment then continue along Marwa and Chowkli, crossing the Chokli-Pookom road near the Periyandy LP school (16-33m) and then it traverses to the Nidubram- Vayalil peedika road and crosses the road near to Nidubram Madappura sreemuthappan temple. (24-29m). The alignment then traverses parallel to the Nidubram- Vayalil peedika road in north direction and crosses Pookome- Madapeedika road near to Vayalil peedika.(17-27m). After crossing this road, the alignment utilizes the low lying areas and crosses the Pandakkal- Mannekara – road near to Jawahar Navodaya Vidhyalaya (11-17 m). Then the alignment utilizes the low lying areas and crosses the Thalassery-Panoor road to reach Kuyyali Puzha (9-12m).

This alignment has a length of 9.3 km. Even if the alignment utilizes the low lying areas, in certain places, it passes through densely populated area. Many residential as well as industrial units fall along the alignment.

Alternative 2:

This alignment mostly coincides with the Alternative 1.The difference being in the portion from Pettipalam to Vayalilpeedika. The alignment is considered by minimizing the effects it cause to the Residential settlements. The alignment is about 10.2 km in length with terrain as plain. The elevation of this particular alignment varies from 4 to 36 m. A high cut area/ tunnel is required in this section.

In this alternative the alignment starts as in the Alternative 1 and deviates once it crosses the Thalassery- Nadapuram road. After crossing Thalassery-Nadapuram road, the alignment traverse to the Chokli region and crosses the Chokli – Pookom road near to the 110 KV KSEB substation, Panoor. The alignment then traverses to north and cross the Nidubram- Vayalil peedika road near to Vayalilpeedika Bus stop and then coincides with the Alignment 1.

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Comparing with alternative 1, the residential settlements affected by this alignment is vey less. But this alignment crosses the High Tension Line at two points, once near to Pettipalam at 3/400 chainage and once before it crosses Nidubram- Vayalil peedika road at 7/700 chainage.

Alternative 3:

This was the last alternative considered by the team, since the first alternative affects residential settlements and the second alternative warrants the construction of a tunnel, the team considered other possibilities along the study stretch and finally came across the possibility of Alternative 3.

Alternative 3 utilizes the available (thodu, river?) in many portions, so that it will reduce the land acquisition. This alignment was considered by minimizing the effect to residential settlements. The terrain is comparatively plainer than the other two alignments. The length of this alignment is approximately 9.2 km.

The alignment starts from Mahe river near to Trippangotoor- Pulloorkkara region utilizing the tributary of Mahe river. The alignment crosses Keezhmadam – Kaliikandy road near Ellithode. Then the alignment utilze the low elevation areas with low settlement near to Tharol sree bhagavathi temple, Muttamkavu Bhagavathi temple and crosses the Pookome – Elangode road near to Elangode ayappa Temple. Then the alignment traverses to East towards SH 38. The alignment crosses SH 38 near to Saroma Bus depot and Noor masjid. After crossing SH 38, the alignment orients along the north direction towards Thalassery – Panoor road. The alignment crosses Thalassery- Panoor road near to Kerala Gramin bank and Popular vehicles, Panoor. The alignment then turns to east towards the Chempad – Mokheri road and crosses Chempad Mokheri road near to Ram mandir and Yuvadhara Volleyball club. The alignment crosses Champad – Korara road near Kunnoth and finally reaches Kuyyalipuzha.

Comparison of Alternatives

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Factor Alternative 1 Alternative 2 Alternative 3 Length (km) 9.3 10.2 9.2 Terrain Plain Mostly plain, Rolling Comparatively more in one section plainer

Elevation range 5-34 (10-20) 5 -36 (12-22) 5-22 (6-15) (Prominent) High cut/ tunnel 1 1 Nil Crossing HTL 2 1 0 Approximate no of High Medium Low houses affected.

No of curves 6 7 4 Land Use Heavy Residential Moderate residential Uncultivated Lands settlements settlements Natural streams in Less Utilized Less Utilized Well Utilized alignment No of road crossing 8 7 9

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Second Cut

Second is to connect Eranjoli River and Dharmadam river/Anjarakandy River. The length of this cut is nearly 300 meters. Three alternatives were considered for this cut.

First Alternative

Second Alternative

Third Alternative

Three alternatives were considered for this cut. The alternatives are marked above.

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Alternative 1: the first alternative is utilizing the river mouth of the Eranjoli and Dharmadam River. This alternative was studied by NATPAC earlier. Since this alignment is in proximity to the sea, the effect of tidal variation and waves will creatures issues for the smooth maneuvering of the vessels.

Alternative 2: This alternative utilizes the land area between the NH and Railway line. But considering this alignment may restrict the improvement of NH, Railway and even the waterway in future. So this alternative is less feasible.

Alternative 3: This alternative is considered by acquiring land without affecting any structures. This alternative is a better choice compared to the last two alternatives.

Third Cut

Third cut is section between Anjarakandy River and Valapattanam River. The section is nearly of 15 km. Since the third cut is of approximately of 15 km in length, many options were considered in the initial stage of the study. But finally three alternatives were considered for third cut after eliminating the options that is found to be not feasible in the field visits.

Three alternatives were considered for third cut.

First Alternative:

The first alternative starts from Anjarakandy River near to Thottamukku temple and passes along the regions like , , Chala, Thilanoor and Varam to reach the Valapatnam River. This alignment passes through moderate residential settlement areas. The length of this alternative is about 15.1 km.

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This Alternative starts from Anjarakandy River near to Thottumukath and Kadambur Higher Secondary school and cross the Kulam – Mammakunnu road and then traverses towards – Kadachira road. The alignment crosses the Edakkad – Kadachira road near to the Nithyanandha vayanashala and continues towards the Ayyapa Temple. The alignment then runs parallel to Puthiyangadi – Koothuparamba – Chovva Road (SH 38) then crosses sree kuyyanattu temple road near to Kadachira Higher secondary School. The alignment traverses towards MIMS hospital and runs parallel to NH 66 till Chala Junction.It crosses the SH 38 near to Chala NH-SH intersection and then traverses towards Chinmaya Vidhyalaya, Govindagiri and crosses Attadappa Sadoo Park road. Then the alignment change its orientation towards East and crosses Thanke kunnu road. Then the alignment crosses Chovva- road and utilize the uncultivated land for a few distance. The alignment meets Kaanam River and crosses it. It then crosses Elayavoor Temple road and Mundayad-Praikulam-Chalore road. The alignment continues towards the - Mattanoor road and crosses it near to Varam Hospital then crosses pazhassi canal near Varam Viswakarma Devi Temple. The alignment traverses near to Varam sreekrishna temple and Karikkandy Masjid to reach the River.

Second Alternative:

This alternative was suggested avoiding the high elevation and densely populated areas from Alternative 1. This alternative starts near the Madakkara Rifayi Masjid, Cherumavilayi which is in the upstream of Mammakunnu Bridge. The alignment utilizes the low lying area for the initial 3 km of the alignment crossing the Chovva – Mambram road. The alignment changes its direction towards Northwest in between Koodan Gurukkanmar Kaavu and Maanikkiyil sree Bhagavathi Temple (3-10 m). The alignment crosses Chala – Thannada – road (15-19 m) and traverses towards west parallel to Chala – Thannada- Chakkarackal road. The alignment crosses Mowenchery – Koyyode road (19-55 m). This alternative avoid crossing the Chovva bypass. But this particular stretch consist of very high cut area which increase the cost of construction. This alternative share some portion of alignment till it crosses the Attadappa Sadhoo park road. After crossing the Sadhoo park road the alignment traverses towards north (instead of west in Alternative

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1) towards Attadappa Junction. The alignment crosses Thazhe Chovva – Mattanur road near Kappattukavu bus stop (14 – 27 m). The alignment then utilize the same route as alternative 1 after this point (10-25).

Third Alternative:

The second alternative considered was also passing through the densely populated area near to Varam which affects lot of settlements. In this case, the possibilities of considering a new alignment increased.

The third alignment utilizes the alignment of either Alternative 1 or 2 till it crosses the Chovva – Mattanur road. An entirely new alignment is considered after this which passes through Madhukoth and Valiyanoor region.

This alignment starts from Anjarakandy River (utilizing alignment of Alternative 1) near to Thottumukath Muthappan Temple and Kadambur Higher Secondary school which is in the downstream of Mammakunnu Bridge. The alignment crosses the Kulam – Mamakunnu and the Edakkad – Kadachira road (5-10 m). Then the alignment traverses towards Puthiyangadi – Koothuparamba – Chovva bypass and then utilizes the low elevation areas until it crosses Puthiyangadi – Koothuparamba road. The alignment crosses the Chala bypass near Chala bypass junction. The alignment crosses the Attadappa Sadhoo park road. After this point the alignment utilizes the part of Alternative 2 which traverse toward the Attadappa Junction and then towards the Chovva – Mattanoor road. The alignment crosses the Chovva – Mattanur road near Kappattukavu bus stop. Both the alignment 1 and 2 was passing through heavy built up area after this point. A new alignment was suggested in this alternative. After crossing the Chovva – Mattanoor road, the alignment utilses some portion of the Kaanam River for some distance and crosses the Madhukoth – road and then traverse parallel to Madhukoth – Kappad road passing near to Chelore LP school and Somesri Temple. The alignment crosses the Kannur Mattanur road near the Valyanoor co-operative bank. A tunnel might be required in this area. After crossing the Kannur Matanoor road the alignment meets with a canal where a cross structure is

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need to be constructed. After crossing this canal the alignment utilizes the low lying areas and crosses the Valyaparamba – Nayattupara road to reach the Valapatanam River.

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