When a squally monsoon turns the Pampa River into a muddy spate, Aleena, a Plus One student from Arayanjilimon in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district, knows she is in for an uncertain break from school.
As the river swells, it submerges the concrete bridge, the sole line of connectivity for Arayanjilimon residents to the outside world. The seasonal disruptions have now become a routine for her and other students in the village since childhood.
Arayanjilimon in ward number 6 of the Ranni-Perunad panchayat in Ranni Taluk is home to around 400 families. The bridge is their lifeline. When it submerges, their lives come to a halt. Students miss classes, elders lose daily wages from work and patients wait for medical attention, not knowing when it will come.
Bordered by the Pamba River on one side and the Sabarimala forest area within the Periyar Tiger Reserve on the rest, nearly 2,000 villagers brave hardships during challenging monsoon season every year. They are cut off from everything; education, work, healthcare, and all other essential services. Inspiringly, these people have learned to adapt in remarkable ways but every time it is a test of their resilience.
"We depend on friends and teachers for missed lessons. The lack of any healthcare facilities here is another major concern," Aleena said. She vividly recalled the 2018 floods that left Arayanjilimon isolated for four days. During that time, she was hospitalised with a fever and had to stay with relatives after being discharged until the water receded.
Aleena's mother, Bindhu, expressed concerns about their livelihood, which depends on farming and selling milk. "We have six cows at home. During heavy rains, the vehicle collecting milk from our Milma unit cannot reach the village, disrupting our income," said Bindhu whose husband, Binoy, is a recipient of Milma 'Padavu- Ksheerasahakari 2024 Award' for best dairy farmers in Pathanamthitta district.
The community once had a pedestrian iron bridge as a backup when the main bridge submerged, but the 2018 floods destroyed it. "During the 2018 floods, we faced a medical emergency with our former ward member, the late VN Sudhakaran. He needed dialysis, but the river was in spate and the iron bridge was destroyed. He, along with a few others, walked nearly 10km through the forest, clearing the way as they went. They reached the Perunthenaruvi dam area, crossed the road and finally made it to a hospital in Kozhenchery where he underwent dialysis," recounted the current ward member, CS Sukumaran.
The village has a primary school, but staff, mostly from outside the region, cannot reach the school during floods. Local shops stock up on essentials before the rain intensifies. However, for around 180 Scheduled Tribe (ST) families relying significantly on a ration shop across the river, accessing food and essentials remain a challenge.
"During the 2018 floods, the community received extensive support from the neighbouring shore. Residents there sent food items across the river to Arayanjilimon using a pulley system made from broken electricity cables and ropes. Several collective groups also helped us with arranging those requisites," Sukumaran recounted.
The village's diverse population includes teachers, government employees, private employees and mostly daily-wage workers and farmers. "They, except farmers, usually depart from the village in the morning and return only in the evening. Occasionally, upon their return, they encounter a submerged river, necessitating them to wait for the water level to recede before they can journey home," Sukumaran said.
Wildlife encounters, particularly with elephants damaging crops, have already driven some residents to migrate out of the village. Farmers, especially those cultivating rubber, face the constant threat of elephant incursions while going for tapping on early mornings. "Now the bridge has become another reason for them to leave," Sukumaran added.
Proposal for a new bridge
The concrete bridge is over 25 years old. The proposal for a new bridge gained momentum after the iron bridge was destroyed. Villagers made a collective effort to push for its construction. However, delays occurred when officials decided to build two bridges simultaneously, one in Arayanjilimon and the other in Kurumbanmoozhy, which faced a similar issue. "The contract for the Arayanjilimon bridge was initially given to the Public Works Department (PWD), while the Kurumbanmoozhy bridge contract went to Steel Industries Limited Kerala (SILK) in Alappuzha. The PWD returned the proposal, stating they did not handle such projects, leading to further delays as the contract had to be reassigned,'' Sukumaran said.
