What coasts be these !

The coast here in the Mundra taluk of Kutch is entirely different from any coast I've seen in the south. Some rudimentary geography we've learnt informs us that the north western part of our coast has a much more gradual continental shelf, and hence, the sea is much more shallow than in the southern coasts. The unique geography also results in a highly variable sealine, as the sea has space to move in and out of land with ease. The result is a huge difference the high tide line and low tide line. Its almost 5 kilometers, according to some fishermen!

It was all well and good, for it made logical sense then. But none of that prepares you for actually witnessing the Kutch coast. One is aware of the facts that it is a shallow coast, but its difficult to express how weird the shallow coast actually looks and feels. The sea seems more a lagoon, as the shallow shelf gently caresses the sea to ease into the land. So, here I was accustomed to Marina beach type speedy waves… what you get is gentle, soft ones. Also missing is the rich noise of the waves, as they thud onto rocks, or grains of beach sand. That sweet sound of a sea, that we normally hear many miles away from the coastline, the sound that always awakens our childhood and stirs us… that is missing. The strangeness is almost disconcerting.

Dont let these apparent waves fool you. They're hardly waves!

 These are no sandy coasts, nor rocky ones, only mudflats dominate the landscape.  Fishermen have their temporary dwellings on the mudflats, on slightly raised, earthen platforms. These dwellings are just logs of wood for framework, with jute covers for walls. They're raised because the dwellings are within the high tide line. So, very often, the sea enters these mudflats. Why cant they just stay outside the mudflats you wonder? Well, cause the high tide line and low tide is so vast, one cant expect them to travel 5 kms just to reach the sea during low tide!

Mudflats in the tidal zone. Puddles are remnants of last weeks high tide. 

 Since such shallow waters don’t breed fish, the fishermen travel close to 15-20 kilometers into the sea where sufficient depth is reached. This automatically raises fuel costs for their boats. And as a result, a lot of the loans and minor advances(microloans) they take are for purchasing diesel. However, the loan taking practises of the fishermen need much more elaboration. It deserves a post in itself, and it shall have it. So, more on this and their spending habits in weeks to come!

The shallowness of the sea also results in many practices that are made possible due to this geography. Donkeys and horses are used by all fishermen to transport from dwelling to the boat. This is possible as the animals can walk many 100 meters inside the sea (as can be deciphered from the pic). These come in handy when loading equipment and unloading the catch. There's a local saying too, "Who fishes without a donkey!"…

Hard to spot donkeys here. But suffice to note that people are walking way into the sea.

 The only minus is that most nights are disturbed by braying donkeys.

To end with an inconsequential observation, a norm here is that men wear full pants or pyjamas. No one wears shorts or even lungis. Given the coastal setting, it seemed very odd at first. But as elaborated above, the tidal waves are hardly strong, plus its such a shallow coast. So, a quick 'wetting the feet' that is part of the southern beach experience is absent here. One can actually stand with your feet inside the water, with your pants not getting wet an all. Its like standing in stagnant water. There're hardly any waves as such. What I'm trying to say is that, shorts and lungis are not a necessity here.

Photo credits : Self

Drinking water in rural Kutch

Supplying safe drinking water to rural households has been a problem we've been trying to solve for eons now.

 Tata power has supplied Bhadreshwar village in coastal Kutch with this R.O Water treatment plant. It's been donated to the panchayat sort of. So, villagers pay Rs.5 per can of 30 litres. If they want it home delivered, an extra Rs.5 is paid to the small errand boys. It's run by some of the village youths, who no doubt have close affiliations to the sarpanch. This system just started about 2 months back. And about 120 households avail of these cans. There are over 800 households in this village. Its an interesting model...  

 We see large government funded free, piped drinking water systems work effectively in so few places. Especially given that they're always implemented by the panchayat through NREGA, Swajal Dhara, NRDWP or other schemes, drinking water projects have always been linked to large construction like laying pipes and building tanks - the kind of operations that most panchayats do such a shoddy job of. In such a context, is this a reasonable solution?

A family of five would probably need at least one can a day - drinking, cooking, etc. Meaning, drinking water costs alone come to Rs.180 per month. I doubt any Govt sponsored piped water scheme in India cost as much. But still, this system ensures water atleast reaches the houses.

Is Rs.180 per month really prohibitive? Is there a minimum price to pay to ensure the system runs effectively?

The larger question being asked is... Is pricing a basic good necessarily bad? 

Mind you, arguments put forth here, may also be used for distribution of some other basic goods like food. 

PS: This area falls right next to the Mundra coastal SEZ park, where several other controversial projects have and are coming up. It has seen several protests for the last few years by mostly fishermen, who constitute over 50% of the villages here. No doubt corporate initiatives such as the R.O plant need to be seen with the SEZ background.

Photo credits: Self.