Project Bhoomika, a social initiative to provide homes for those affected by the floods in Kerala’s Alappuzha district, enables residents to feel safe during the state’s torrential monsoon.
August brings to mind India’s Independence Day, a time of pride, joy and hope. But for Keralites and their loved ones, the month of August brings back gruesome memories of fear and helplessness.
It’s tough for them to overcome the haunting memories of the floods of August 2018, which as per official records, snatched away 339 lives in the state. The floods caused by heavy rainfall started on the eve of August 15, 2018, and continued till August 19. As many as 13 of the 14 districts of Kerala were inundated.
The devastation damaged over 1 lakh houses in urban areas and more than 6 lakh houses in the gram panchayats of Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Thrissur and Wayanad districts.
Alappuzha was among the worst affected districts. As many as 2,075 houses were fully damaged, and another 18,990 houses were severely damaged, as per the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority. Dreams and hopes were washed away as the torrential rainwaters rubbled houses, leaving the inhabitants in rescue camps.
The scale of the disaster and the wreckage caused brought with it an outpouring of support from different quarters. Along with the government machinery, private agencies and not-for-profit organisations pitched in full strength.
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Trivandrum Runners Club, a registered charitable organisation based in Kerala’s capital, was one of the not-for-profit bodies that swung into action soon after disaster struck.
Architect NS Abhayakumar, president of the club, recalled, “Kerala always had copious rains but the spell of 2018 threw everyone off. There was a lot of relief work that was carried out but once the water receded, it was rehabilitation and rebuilding that then needed attention. As someone who was witness to the magnitude of trauma after the floods, I was determined to put my learning and skills to benefit those who were affected.”
Thus was born Project Bhoomika, a social initiative to provide homes for those affected by the floods.
Abhayakumar, with the help of social entrepreneurs like Sobha Viswanath, visited different parts of Kerala to get a firsthand understanding of the flood-affected areas.
“We zeroed in on Cheruthana village in Haripad of Alappuzha district, since flooding is a perennial problem for the region which is below the mean sea level. This, together with the presence of four rivers, meant that flooding was a recurrent event for the inhabitants. I wanted to be a part of changing this narrative and help the residents have access to flood-resistant houses, ” said Abhayakumar.
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After a round of soil tests, the architect sprung into action, garnering the support of senior structural engineers such as UC Ahmed Kutty, retired HOD of TKM College of Engineering, Kollam, to visit and assess the sites, apart from inputs from the alumni of his alma mater, College of Engineering, Trivandrum (CET), to participate in the rebuilding.
He put together a team of architects, social workers and student volunteers from engineering colleges in the district, while relying on a group of young men from Haripad who were active social workers, to identify those people whose houses had been completely destroyed.
“Preference was given to single mother households, and those with aged or physically and mentally challenged members,” he added.
A design for cost-effective and pre-fabricated flood-resistant houses using ferrous cement technology was made. It appealed to social innovator Verghese K Jacob, CEO, Byrraju Foundation, who drew in the engineering company Godrej & Boyce. The employees of the latter had raised funds by donating a day’s salary in the wake of the floods.
The foundation-stone laying function was held on November 4, 2019. The target was to hand over 10 completed flood-resistant houses in 11 months. A civil team comprising engineers was stationed at a central location in Haripad, a yard taken on rent where all the pre-fab work would be done before the parts would be transported to the sites, scattered across the region. But in March 2020, the world was struck by the Covid-19 pandemic and construction activity was stalled.
Project Bhoomika restarted on September 28, 2020, after two lockdowns, enduring the risk of contagion and reworking the deadline while site after site became containment zones.
It has been nearly two years since residents started living in the flood-resistant houses. The notable feature of these houses is their cost-effective disaster-resistant technology.
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The cost for construction of the 400 sq ft two-bedroom houses, erected on nine pillars of one-metre height each, was kept at below Rs 6 lakh each. The houses were conceived in such a way that the different parts, such as the well rings, pillars and wall panels could be pre-fabricated and transported by boat and then erected at site.
Another highlight of Project Bhoomika is that the beneficiaries had a say in the design of the houses.
“Cheruthana experiences flooding at least three times a year. We employed a technology adopted for the construction of ferrocement water storage tanks. Ferrocement is made of cement mortar reinforced with layers of woven or welded wire mesh; occasionally, a simple wire hoop reinforcement is added for extra strength. The foundation of the houses in Cheruthana was modelled along these lines, making it resistant to floods. It is satisfying to note that the residents of all the 10 flood-resistant houses and their belongings were safe during the subsequent monsoons,” said Abhayakumar.
Shyamala P, a resident of Ayaparambu and a beneficiary of the project, agreed and said, “Even though the floods keep recurring every year, we have thus far been unaffected in our new house. After several years of living in fear, we now feel safe.”
The use of appropriate technology in this flood-relief housing project caught the attention of the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), which recognised Project Bhoomika with the first prize in the HUDCO Design Awards 2023-24. “It is gratifying that the project has been noticed not just for its social imperatives but also for its technical aspects,” said Abhay.
The 12-member multidisciplinary team behind Project Bhoomika hopes that this recognition will contribute to the replication of the technology in other flood-prone areas of the state and the country.
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The lead image on top shows construction material being transported by boat to the Project Bhoomika site at Cheruthana village in Haripad of Alappuzha district, Kerala. (Photo courtesy Project Bhoomika)
Rema Sundar is a development sector professional.
