Socio-cultural Processes and Livelihood Patterns at Tirurangadi - CDS

V
Contemporary Issues
It is beyond the scope of the present study to speculate on what that development plan
would look like, but appears necessary to outline the context in which such an initiative is
taking place. It is clear that any such plan will have to deal with historical experience of
the region, besides the political priorities of the dominant forces in the region and socio-
economic condition of the people. Hence, the following part will be an effort to discuss
some of these issues.
Environmental factors
Any comprehensive analysis of the contemporary scene will have to start from the study
of the environment. From a Human geographical perspective, it is futile to talk about a
pristine geography, flora and fauna in a region after about two thousand years of human
occupation. We may talk about a built environment including soil conditions, floral and
faunal wealth, as it is understood that more than thousand years of paddy and paramba
cultivation in an area is bound to transform the nature of such features. Keeping this
factor in mind we may try to identify some of the environmental features which may
become important in the future.
The crucial environmental factors in the area are the coastal alluvial region, Kadalundi
River and the laterite zone in the elevated regions. The coastal alluvial region is
geologically a recent formation, and is the widest in the region of about six to eight
kilometers width at Vallikkunnu and Tirurangadi. Together with the coastal alluvial
region, with clayey and sandy soil is the riverside alluvial region around Kadalundi
River. Kadalundi River has a drainage area of 1274 Sq.km, a large part of which falls in
the field area, in which the River travels around 22km. The base flow of the River is