School of Planning and Architecture

Bhopal

Infrastructure Planning
Report on

Allapuzha- Physical Infrastructure Analysis

Submitted By

Meha Nair
2019MTPLM001
Table of Contents

1.Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1
2.Location................................................................................................................................................ 1
3. Demographic Profile……………………………………………………………………………………………….........................2

4. Infrastructure………………………………………………………………………………………………...................................3

4.1. Solid Waste Management ………………………………………………………………………….…….……..…...3

4.2. Drainage and Irrigation…………………………………………………………………………………..….………....7

4.3. Water Supply…………………………………………………………………………….………………………….……....7

4.4. Transportation………………………………………………………………………….………………………….……....9

5.Inference…………………………………………………………………………….………………………...................................13

6.References………………………………………………………………………….………………………...................................14
1.Introduction
Alappuzha, one of the southern districts of Kerala is the smallest in terms of area in
the State. The district lies mostly in the coastal plains. Alappuzha is the only district without
forest cover in the State. Carved out of the erstwhile Kottayam and Kollam districts,
Alappuzha district was formed on 17th August, 1957. A part of the district was later
transferred to the newly formed district of Pathanamthitta in 1982. Agriculture is the
predominant economic activity with paddy being the main crop. The district, thanks to its
varied and diverse geographical features, is well known as a tourist destination of
international acclaim. The extensive navigable waterbodies with the unending stretch of
paddy fields and lush green coconut palms on the polders, streams, canals, rivers and
backwaters and a fairly long stretch of unbroken and rather calm sea coast make it an ideal
spot for waterfront tourism.

2.Location

Regional Setting of Allapuzha District (Source-District Urbanisation Report)

Alappuzha district is bounded on the north by Ernakulam district, east by Kottayam and
Pathanamthitta districts, south by Kollam district and west by Lakshadweep Sea. The district lies in
the midland and coastal areas. The terrain can be described to be flat with gentle slope towards the
west. The rivers of the area flow towards Lakshadweep Sea. The Vembanad Lake separates the
district from Ernakulam and Kottayam districts on the north and east.
 Allapuzha and surrounding
areas (Source-District
Urbanisation Report)
3.Demographic Profile

Table showing Demographic profile of Allapuzha from 1981-2016 (Source-District Urbanisation Report)

graph showing population growth of Allapuzha from 1981-2016 (Source-District Urbanisation Report)
4.Infrastructure

The availability of infrastructural facilities is an indicator of the standard of living in the area.
These point to the level of development. The comparative analysis helps in assessing the district in
comparison with the rest of the state. The following parameters are analysed in this regard.

4.1 Solid Waste Management

Alappuzha (also called Alleppey) municipality is successfully experimenting with a new
decentralized waste management initiative. In July 2012, the city’s plight was dismal. Known as the
‘Venice of the East’ for its large network of canals, backwaters, lagoons and beaches, Alleppey
looked like a vast waste dump. Totten garbage had piled up on roadsides, and canals and drains
were clogged with bags of stinking waste from hotels, markets and meat shops. Dirt had spread
everywhere in the heavy rains. Swarms of mosquitoes and flies had invaded the city spreading
chikungunya and dengue. Two and a half years later, Alappuzha has undergone a dramatic
transformation. Streets are clean. The old dumping spots have disappeared. The most surprising
makeover is that of the biggest and dirtiest garbage dumping yard near Vazhicherry in the heart of
the city.

It has been transformed into a WATSAN (water & sanitation) park with a small shed with six
tanks (Thumburmuzhi aerobic composting model which can covert two tonnes of wet waste into
compost in 90 days) where aerobic composting is done. Alappuzha with 0.174 million population (in
2014) has 52 wards (of these 23 are in the city and remaining are rural wards). The municipality
which produces 58 tonnes of solid waste a day is implementig a project called ‘Nirmala Bhavanam
Nirmala Nagaram (Clean Homes Clean City) since November 2012. The focus of the initiative is
segregation and treatment of wet waste at the source itself.

Image Courtsey:https://www.thebetterindia.com/126264/parliament-repeals-245-laws/
4.1.1 What led to this shift?
It was an acute crisis that forced Alappuzha to take a different route. The municipality has
been dumping waste for decades in a six-hectare plot it own in Sargodayapuram, a village located in
the nearby Mararikkulam village panchayat. Decades ago, this plot used to be a night soil dumping
yard for Alappuzha town. In April 2005, the urban local body signed an agreement with Andra
Pradesh Technology Promotion and Development Centre (APTDC), a service provider approved by
the State Government to set up a windrow composting plant with capacity for converting 50 tonnes
of wet waste daily into compost. The agreement was that the municipality would provide 50 tonnes
of segregated municipal waste daily, and the service provider should commission the plant within 10
months. The cost of the project was Rs.3.77 crore. Kudumbasree units (women’s self help groups)
were engaged in collecting the waste. But segregation did not happen. The units collected un
segregated waste from households, shops, hotels and markets. The municipality’s contingent of
workers under the sanitation department transported about 40 tonnes of the waste daily to the
plant in trucks.

The service provider not only failed to commission the plant in the stipulated time, but was
also able to process the decided quantity of waste. The plant could process only 5-10 tonnes of
waste a day, and the rest of the rotten garbage accumulated on the premise along with the waste
already dumped earlier. Years of waste dumping by the urban local body had caused environment
pollution, contamination of water sources, stench, mosquitos and flies and spreading of diseases in
the neighborhood of the plant. In June 2012, the residents of Sarvodayapuram rose up in arms
against waste dumping in their backyard. There were continuous protests, hunger strikes and
blockade of the road leading to the plant preventing the municipality’s trucks from entering the
area. The protests lasted for 100 days. After many rounds of discussion, the village panchayat
allowed the municipality to bring in just four-five tons of waste.

In November 2014, the panchayat decided not to allow any more waste from the urban
body. CITY TAKES NEW ROUTE The strict stance of the rural local body pushed the city into a corner.
For some days, the municipality buried its waste but public places for burying waste were exhausted
very quickly. The city became a vast dump yard. But, unlike Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala’s capital
city, which had declared an open war against Vilappil panchayat which said NO to the city’s waste,
Alappuzha did not go for a fight, open or legal. It knew dumping unsorted municipal waste was
illegal.

Besides, Kerala government had made its Municipality Act, 1994, more stringent in
November 2014, making it mandatory to treat solid waste and sewage at source. When garbage
started spreading everywhere in the city, Dr. Thomas Isaac (now the minister for finance,
government of Kerala) decided to try decentralized waste management. Under his leadership, many
rounds of discussion were held among the municipality authorities, councillors, residents’
associations and the leaders of all the political parties. A preliminary survey was conducted by
women’s self-help groups to find out how citizens disposed the waste they generated and what
were their requirements.

The outcome of all these efforts was the decision to go for decentralized waste
management. A group of committed young staff of the municipality sanitation department took the
lead. PROJECT ROLLS OUT The Alappuzha Municipality has about 40,000 households in 52 wards.
The Clean Home Clean City programme was started first in 12 of the most urbanized wards as a pilot
project. These wards together have about 12,000 houses. The plan was to make the maximum
number of households owning land, set up portable biogas plants or fixed biogas plans. Those who
did not have enough land to set up the plants were advised to go for pipe composting. The fixed
biogas plant designed by the Agency for Non-conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT)
cost Rs.17,500. About 8-10 kg of waste can be treated in this plant. The plant provides biogas for
two-three hours daily. The portable biogas plant is designed by IRTC. It is made of fibre and resin.
The capacity of this plant is 1,000 litre, and it costs Rs.13,500. In this plant, 5-7.5 k.g waste can be
converted into compost. Biogas will be available for 80-90 minutes, Suchitwa Mission, the state’s
nodal agency in-charge of the total sanitation programme, gave 75 per cent subsidy to biogas plants.

4.1.2 The Process Adopted

The pipe composting system is ideal for a small family. It consists of two PVC pipes of 1.25 m
length and eight inches diameter with two caps. The pipes are fixed in a vertical position on the
ground with ¼ m under the ground. A layer of gravel of 30 cm is first put into the pipe to absorb
leachate. Waste can be ut into one pipe for 30-35 days till it is full. Once full, the first pipe is closed
with teh lid. Then for the next 30-35 days waste is put in the second pipe. By the time the second
pipe is full, waste in the first one would be converted into compost. A few holes are made on the top
part of the pipe for air to enter and to avoid bad smell.

Community Aerobic Compost unit (Image Courtsey:https://www.thebetterindia.com)

Households which could not install plants due to financial or space constrains were urged to
deposit their domestic waste in biogas plants of their neighbour as a cluster programme. EASY, NO
STENCH In 2013, the clean city drive took a new turn with the entry of Thumburmuzhi a model
aerobic composting unit. The model consists of a tank of 4x4x4 feet size made of ferro-cement or
bricks. It is designed in such a way that air enters into the tank through the gaps on the sides. It
should be kept under a roof to avoid rainwater falling into the tank. About 2 tons of waste can be
processed into compost in 90 days in this tank. A layer of fresh cow dung or slurry from the biogas
plants is put at the bottom of the tank to generate microbes for composting. Above this, a 6-inch
layer of dry leaves or dry grass or small pieces of paper is placed. Over this layers of bio-waste and
cow dung are placed. Instead of cow dung, an inoculums developed from cow dung by the Kerala
Agriculture University is also used. Dry leaves and dry grass absorb water oozing from garbage. The
temperature inside the tank goes up to 750C. This prevents mosquitoes and flies and other small
creatures from entering. The construction cost of each tank is around Rs.10,000. A unit with two
tanks, roof, side walls and water facilities costs about R.1-15 lakh.

The municipality has set up 12 waste collection centres with 165 Thumburmuzhi bins at
public places and the old waste dumping spots. These are maintained by the 168 contingent workers
of the municipality who used to collect waste from dump spots in the city and transport it to
Sarvodayapuram. The households which do not have other waste processing facilities can bring their
waste to the aerobic bins. Collection time is fixed at 6-12 in the morning and 6-10 in the evening.
About 10,000 households are connected to these collection centres. Apart from the households, 25
per cent of the bio-waste from small shops too reached these bins. Compost from these is given free
of cost to farmers. Just like the service teams of women, the contingent workers too are given
regular technical training in waste management and personality development so that they can
educate the residents and not be rude to those who bring in waste that is not properly segregated.

The Municipality has formed night squads of sanitation workers. If any resident is caught throwing
waste, she or he is fined Rs.2500. If waste is dumped into a canal or a water body, fine may go up to
rs.20000 under the 340 B Section of the MSW Rules for contaminating and polluting water sources.
For shops and hotels, a closure notice may also be served.

4.1.3 Plastic and biomedical waste

Plastic and biomedical waste of the total municipal waste in Alappuzha, plastic make up 4-5
percent. All the wards in the Municipality conduct plastic collection drives once in two – three
months. most of the plastic waste is collected by representative of the Clean Kerala Company,
formed under the Local Self Government Department (LSGD) of the Government of Kerala. The
plastic is then sent to Erode in Tamil Nadu for further recycling. The city has about 15 hospital and a
few clinics. They are linked with IMAGE (Indian Medical Association Goes Ecofriendly), a common
biomedical waste treatment and disposal facility established in 2003 by IMA’s Kerala chapter at
Palakkad. The hospitals in Alappuzha send their biomedical waste to this facility. Some of the
hospitals have their own arrangement like biogas plants for managing their food waste.

Images showing Biomedical and plastic waste accumulation

4.1.4 Current Scenario
As of now, the 12 wards have been declared as Total Sanitation Wards with 80 percent
household having simple composting / biogas techniques and establishments with good sanitation
facilities. The municipality has plants to turn another 11 wards into total sanitation wards. The plan
is to set up 4200 (1 m3 size) portable biogas plants, 500 fixed plants 13,033 pipe composts and 200
aerobic composting bins. All of these together can treat 31.9 tons of garbage. ENERGY SAVED
Interestingly the Clean Homes Clean City initiative has helped Alappuzha municipality earn Kerala
government’s energy conservation awards for 2013- 14. By processing 2342.54 tones of liquid waste,
the municipality saved 11712.70 litres of diesel. The municipality thus saved Rs.7 lakh in 2013-14.

4.2.Drainage and Irrigation

Alappuzha district is drained mainly by Pamba River and its tributaries viz. Achankovil and
Manimala Rivers. The Pamba River drains an area of 804 sq.km of the district and form a deltaic
region skirting the south eastern, southern and south western fringes of Vembanad Lake. The
Manimala River enters the Kuttanad area at Thondara and confluences with Pamba River at
Neerettupuram. Achancovil Ar enters Kuttanad at Pandalam and joins Pamba River at Veeyapuram.
Vembanad Lake, the largest back water in the State lies on the north eastern part of the district
separating Alappuzha from Kottayam district.

There are no major irrigation projects in Alappuzha district. However about 19 sq.km. in the south
western part of the district is benefited by the Pamba Irrigation Project. Minor and lift irrigation
projects irrigate an area of about 181 sq. km. The source-wise data on irrigation are given in.

4.3.Water supply
It is seen that 69.99% of the state population is covered by the Government sponsored
water supply scheme. In comparison, the coverage at Alappuzha is still higher (85.45%). Maximum
coverage is at Ernakulam (94.33%) and the least 51.27%. at Kozhikode.
4.3.1 Groundwater
The district is blessed with abundant groundwater resources in phreatic, semi-confined and
confined conditions. Groundwater is mainly used for drinking and industrial purposes. The phreatic
aquifer is tapped by dug wells and filter points generally fitted with 1.0 to 1.5 HP pumps. The deeper
productive confined aquifers are extensively developed through submersible or vertical turbine
pumps for drinking water supply. Water Conservation and Artificial Recharge
The district is a coastal plain land and major part of the district lies between 2m a MSL to 2m b MSL.
The phreatic aquifer is composed of alluvial and beach sand. Since the sand is highly porous and
permeable, natural recharge takes place automatically and a major part of the percolated rainwater
goes off as rejected recharge which reaches to the drain channel as surface run off or sub surface
runoff. Hence there is no immediate need for Artificial Recharge in the phreatic aquifer. However, in
view of the large scale bacteriological contamination of ground water in the phreatic zone as well as
the salinity problems in the coastal tracts, rainwater harvesting for direct use through storage tanks
is feasible in the entire district

4.3.2 Groundwater related issues and problems

4.3.2.1 Vulnerable areas

A major part of the district is vulnerable to bacteriological contamination due to the shallow
water levels and existing sanitary practices. The area around Chandirur and Thuravur has a lot of fish
processing factories. The fluid wastes from these factories are polluting the nearby canals and this in
turn may pollute the sub-surface water. Proper scientific guidelines and monitoring of the industrial
waste disposal system is necessary for preventing large scale groundwater pollution due to industrial
waste.

4.3.2.2 Water logging and conjunctive use

Most of the Kuttanad area lie in submerged condition during major part of the year. It is
subjected to the twin hazards of flood discharge during monsoon and sea water ingress during
summer on either side of Vembanad Lake. Excess water from the paddy fields are being pumped out
to the discharge channel finally leads to ocean. Canal irrigation from the Pamba-Achenkoil project is
practiced in areas outside of Alappuzha and the canals in Kuttanad are mainly used for navigation
and for discharging the excess water pumped out of paddy fields and for discharging the flood from
Pamba River to the Vembanad Lake.

4.3.2.3 Ground Water Quality Deterioration

Bacteriological contamination of ground water from leach pits is a major problem affecting
the safe drinking water supply to habitations in the district. Habitations in the close proximity of
ocean, backwater canals and Vembanad Lake also suffers from quality deterioration due to ingress
of saline water during the summer months.

The Kuttanad area has a very delicate ecosystem. Extensive use of hazardous chemicals
would cause environmental pollution and will also lead to destruction of natural enemies of pests.
People now seem to be slowly awakening to the dangers, following the suspicion that water
pollution especially due to pesticides has caused the outbreak of fish disease in the recent past.
4.4 Transportation Infrastructure
Road Length:
Statistics reveal that with a total road length of 21937.76 km, Kerala accounts for 3.78% of
the total road length in India. Alappuzha account for 5.17% (1258.41km) of the state roads.
Considering availability of total road length per unit area, Alappuzha is better placed than the rest of
the districts in the State. In respect of availability of National Highways and State Highways,
Alappuzha stands next only to Kottayam. Considering the vast water bodies and extensive paddy
fields, road density (with regard to area served or population served) is comparatively high.

Transportation network of Allapuzha city(Source: City Road Improvement project)

4.4.1 Accessibility/ Connectivity
Alappuzha city is well connected to other cities in India through Road and Rail. The major
road passing through the heart of city is National Highway - 66 (NH-66) connecting Panvel to
Kanyakumari and further provides connection to Mumbai, Mangalore, Kochi and
Thiruvunanthapuram etc. Another major road SH-11 emanates from Kalarcode in Alappuzha District
and connects Perunna in Changanassery town. Other than this, there are two other state highways
SH – 66 and SH – 40 which originates in the Alappuzha municipal area. The road network map of
Alappuzha municipality area is presented in

Map showing the road network of Allapuzha District( City road improvement report)
4.4.2 Public Transport
Both Public transport and Private transport buses are running in Alappuzha town. The KSRTC bus
stand is located near Police Outpost, opposite to Alappuzha Boat Jetty, which operates both mofussil
services and inter-city and inter-state services. The private bus stand is located between YMCA
junction and Vazhichery Junction on the south side of the Vadai canal (VCSB road).

Private Bus stand KSRTC Bus stand

4.4.3 National Highway 66 (NH-66)

The NH 66 passes almost through the middle of the town starting from North at Thumboly
to South at Kalarcode.

4.4.4 State Highways (SH11, SH40 and SH66)

The State Highway 11 (SH-11) connecting eastern parts of Alappuzha town with
Changanassery and the State Highway 40 (SH-40), Thanneermukkam road, originate from this town.
Another State Highway SH- 66(a coastal road) passes through this town at Bappu Vaidyar junction.
This road leads to Chellanam via Thumboli junction.

4.4.5 Collector Roads

Apart from these roads, numerous municipality roads constitute the road network of this
town. The road network is of grid pattern and the roads are placed parallel to each other.

4.4.6 Rail

At present, one railway station located in Alappuzha town, where express and passenger
trains halt at the station.The station is a major station on the Ernakulam-Kayamkulam coastal railway
line. Around 50 express and passenger train halt at Alappuzha railway station which connects major
cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Mangalore, Chennai, etc..
4.4.7 Vehicle Registration Data

Figure gives the growth of total vehicles in Alappuzha. The per annum growth rate from
2010 to 2016 works out to be 41%. Among all the vehicles, two wheelers are registered the highest
each year with the percentage varying from 66% to 73%. While the growth in population in
Alappuzha town is less than 1% per annum, the growth of registered vehicles is 41% during 2010-
2016. This clearly indicates the increased vehicle ownership and use of motorised modes for travel in
the city.

4.4.8 Analysis
The major transport issues observed in the study area are:
  Heavy congestion is observed at two critical bridge locations along the Commercial Canal
(Jilla court and Shavakottapalam) during Peak hours.

 2. Lack of adequate parking facilities resulting in on-street parking in core area of Alappuzha
like Jilla court junction, Market junction, Pichu Iyer junction and also along the canal roads-
CCNB and VCNB roads results in reduced effective carriage width in the CBD area causing
congestion during peak hours.

 3. Encroachments (Street shops, other commercial activities etc.) in areas like Jilla court,
Market and along the Canal roads results in increased pedestrian movement and parking
while it reduces the effective carriageway width. No measures to regulate the Hawkers.

 4. Lack of pedestrian facilities. There are no footpaths observed even in the busiest junctions
and locations.

 No Road markings and signage observed

 Sharp curve at Chandanakkavu (Corridor No:3) makes the KSRTC buses to slow down to
manoeuvre the section

 Traffic congestion and delays due to reduced carriageway widths and un-signalised junctions

 Improper intersection geometrics

 Risk of accidents due to absence of pedestrian facilities

5.Inference

The physiography of the district deserves special mention as Alappuzha is the only district in
Kerala with no high land or forestland. Considerable area of the district is water locked. Kuttanad
area is below sea level. The district boasts of a rich historical and cultural past The district has fairly
good infrastructure facilities in education, health and transport sectors. Thanks to the abundant
natural resources, unique to the district, Alappuzha has become an internationally renowned
destination for leisure tourism, especially with regard to waterfront tourism in the state .

Looking on to the physical infrastructure of Allapuzha city we can conclude that the solid
waste management sector has proved to be an exemplary model for other cities as well. Recognised
by the United Nations it has been awarded as the zero waste city. The drainage and irrigation of
Allapuzha is satisfactory and no water shortage is observed in any part of the district.

The sanitation is an issue during the floods and much problems are observed because of it. If
we analyse the Transportation sector then we will come to know that Allapuzha is well connected to
other part of the state with different modes of transport. The pedestrian infrastructure remains
questionable and measures need to be taken to tackle this problem.
6. References

 The District Urbanisation Report for Alappuzha- department of town and country planning -
government of kerala january 2011

 Ground water information booklet of Alappuzha district, Kerala state- Ministry of Water
Resources- Central Ground Water Board- Government of India

 City Road Improvement Project (CRIP) Alappuzha, L&t infrastructure engineering

limited

 http://sanitation.kerala.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Clean-Homes-Clean-
City-Alappuzha.pdf
TOTAL SANITATION PROGRAMME —