I found a despondent PA Ashraf, a 50-year-old fisherman, leaving empty-handed from the dry riverbed of Bharathapuzha, better known as the Nila river. Flowing over 209km, this is the second longest river in Kerala after the Periyar. These are difficult days for people like Ashraf, a resident of Cheruthuruthi, a small fishing village near Thrissur, whose bread and butter come only from fishing.
Indiscriminate sand mining has reduced the river to a trickle. “A few decades ago, fishing was a lucrative trade,” says Ashraf. With Nila drying up progressively, his only chance of netting a catch lies in the small pools of water on the riverbed.
The problems go beyond fishing here. There is an acute shortage of drinking water in the 175 gram panchayats and a dozen municipalities on the banks of the Nila. A total of 117 species dependent on the river’s eco-system are also on the verge of extinction. It’s not just Nila whose days are numbered. When the river runs dry, thousands of fishermen like Ashraf will disappear too.
Photos by KK Mustafah