Thanthonni Thuruthu: Serene islet with 64 families caught in a time warp, as Kochi lives life in the fast lane

It also reflects the reality in which they have been living for generations — left alone to fend for themselves. They are the boatmen of Kochi.

Every household has a canoe, their lifeline. The canoes sustain life on the islet which doesn’t have any vehicles, tarred roads, or a bridge that connects it with the mainland.

The government-run ferry operates to and from the island, but its service is limited to just four round trips a day. The last ferry docks at the island at 9.30 pm.

Life on canoes

“Most people here are fishermen, while the remaining few have taken up small-time jobs in the city. All essential commodities are brought from the city. There are no shops or provisions available on the island,” says Sujith Sugunan, a baker who makes cakes, and delivers them to the mainland.

People use broken pathways to move around on the island. (George Michael/South First)

“We don’t even have a primary health center. We are dependent on canoes during medical emergencies,” he told South First.

The islanders lead a precarious life. “I have been rescued from the waters four times after the canoe capsized,” Rejith TS, another resident, said. 

Rejith TS spoke about the erratic ferry service.

“It often gets cancelled, and we have to depend on the small canoes. Office-goers and schoolchildren are always late. We have appealed to authorities this year also to ensure regular ferry service so that the children can reach school on time,” he told South First.

Plight of Thanthonni Thuruthu

The complaints of Thanthonni Thuruthu residents have been falling on deaf ears.

“Once a canoe capsized while ferrying a pregnant lady to Lourdes’ Hospital. A motorised boat that was passing by, saved the people,” 90-year-old Thankamma told South First.

Soil erosion is a major issue in Thanthonni Thuruthu (George Michael/South First)

Almost every resident has similar tales to tell. Sujith recalled his father’s harrowing experience.

“My father had an accident while fishing and his skull suffered a hairline fracture. The pain worsened at night and we had to rely on our small canoe to reach the hospital.”

Funerals on the island are even sadder, considering the difficulty involved in ferrying the body to the crematorium at Pachalam.

“Sometimes, two boats have to be tied together. There have also been accidents involving boats carrying bodies,” Ajith Kumar, an islander and social worker, said.

The rains worsen their plight. Since the monsoon was relatively weak this year, the residents were spared their annual trip to relief camps

 “But for us, flooding isn’t new. It’s not exclusive to monsoons,” Kumar said. 

The saline water incursion has chipped away at houses, affecting their stability, and rendered bio-toilets set up by the Kochi Corporation useless. It submerges the public taps which supply potable water. 

“Since most of the island consists of wetlands, soil erosion is normal during heavy rains or high tide. The soil beneath my house seeped away this year,” Kumari, a 50-year-old homemaker said.

“There are 64 families here. There used to be more people but they moved away from the island. It is our fate to live like this with the government constantly ignoring us,” she told South First.

“People are fed up. Many real-estate brokers have approached us, offering very little. It’s prime real estate if it’s properly connected, but most people took what they got and left,” Santhosh, who earlier lived on the island. He now lives in Vaduthala.

Light at the end of the tunnel

Ansa James, Councillor of Thattazham division, shared the development plans for the islet with South First.

A view of Kochi city from Thanthonni Thuruth. (George Michael/South First)

“It is mostly wetlands, and hence it often gets flooded. The newly approved bund road will provide relief to the residents from major flooding. A plan for a 1.7-km bund road surrounding the island has been approved and its work will start in the coming months. It will be five metres wide and three-metres tall outer bund,” she said.

An amount of ₹15 crore has been sanctioned for its first phase. “As of now, there are no plans for a bridge,” James said. 

The citizens have been hoping for a better tomorrow. The initial plan for a bund road around the island was formulated in 2018 but was delayed due to various reasons.

“The construction of the bund was delayed because of the delay in allocation of funds. MLA TJ Vinod had submitted various memoranda, seeking allocation of funds for development projects over the past few years. The proposal for the bund was approved early this year,” James said.

Vinod was unavailable for comment.

“The bund road will greatly benefit us, The island has great potential to become a tourist destination. I haven’t left the island hoping that I could one day set up a homestay for tourists” Sujith added.