![photostory gold photostory gold](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/v7dT1olRqkk/hqdefault.jpg)
These discharge waste and oil into the water. The region is known for tourist houseboats. Houseboats passing along the river also release oil, human waste and food remains into the water, which further pollutes the water bodies. Activities to facilitate paddy cultivation have ruined natural water sources. But over the last twenty years, the mixing of pesticides while lowering the water of the paddy fields has polluted the waterbodies. People used to fetch water for their daily chores from the local waterbodies, be it the rivers or backwaters. Paddy cultivators use pesticides, fertilisers and hybrid seed varieties. They do, however, require large scale pesticide use which ultimately poisons the local ecosystem and groundwater. The majority of farmers cultivate ‘high-yielding variety’ (HYV) seeds, which are more productive than regular seeds. The Kuttanad region is below sea level and surrounded by water, yet has scare groundwater. It’s here, one to three meters below sea level, where communities struggle to farm their crops. The area’s uniqueness is emphasised by a rare reclamation process of dividing the marshy land into polders, similar to those in the Netherlands. The ecologically fragile area of Kuttanad is very popular with tourists, with people arriving from around the world to visit its famous ‘backwaters’. In early 2022, Demath and Hariprasad embedded themselves within the community in Kuttanad, with the aim of using photography to shed light on the situation and bring the focus to their unique challenges related to groundwater. In this photostory, Demathlal PM (CANALPY Research Assistant) and Hariprasad VM (PhD student, CTARA, IIT Bombay) – researchers with a keen interest in documentary photography – document and share some water challenges, including groundwater, faced every day in Kuttanad. The focus of World Water Day this year is ‘Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible.’ Groundwater is a vital resource, as it provides nearly half of all drinking water worldwide, and sustains ecosystems. Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink. On World Water Day 2022, we use photos to highlight the everyday challenges faced by Kuttanad’s residents in accessing safe water.
![photostory gold photostory gold](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f5/74/48/f574484b8d5de251ec282b19c7261a78.jpg)
Yet its water resources have come under considerable pressure in recent years and have become contaminated and depleted. Kuttanad, in Kerela, India, is a tourist hotspot surrounded by water and wetlands.