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Time of India
13 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
Wetlands shrinking rapidly in Kerala, fallout can be terrible
1 2 Kochi: Wetlands in Kerala shrank from 2.35 lakh hectares in 1990 to 1.6 lakh ha by 2011, notes S Girija Kumari, head of the University Institute of Technology, Kayamkulam, in the Feb edition of forest department's magazine Aaranyam. She cited unchecked urbanisation, relentless consumerism and an ever-growing appetite for luxury as the reasons for its rapid depletion. With paddy giving way to commercial crops, wetlands' fabric also altered significantly, the report notes. Scientists say, as with the new Aranmula project, wetlands will shrink further, sometimes with the dilution of laws. "Paddy is supposed to be a wetland crop controlling hydrology in an area," said State Wetland Authority (SWA) former member K K Ramachandran. "Unfortunately, Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules was reissued in 2017 which changed its definition in effect excluding paddy fields from that purview. We don't have a database to gauge the extent of wetlands reclaimed in each timeline. Kerala govt initially decided to classify wetlands of 2.5ha and above. However, it was found that a large number fall under that classification. But I understand that the govt asked to identify only the largest 40 wetlands. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Esse novo alarme com câmera é quase gratuito em São Paulo (consulte o preço) Alarmes Undo The govt is delaying the process of notifying the wetlands' inventory. It seems they are set to notify 20 wetlands first. However, I'm doubtful since SWA is not serious about enforcement of powers," he said. National Centre for Earth Science Studies ex-scientist K V Thomas said Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act was largely diluted, benefiting both politicians and businessmen mutually. "Earlier, the act allowed reclaiming wetland and paddy fields by a poor family to construct a house. With the extent of area increased, anyone can reclaim the land. The Act's dilution happened twice in the last eight years. Similar dilutions happened in the CRZ Act too, where Pokkali fields' definition was removed from it. It resulted in a large wetland network being excluded from the protection of CRZ notification. Wetlands and paddy fields are flood plains. When an ecosystem's continuity is lost through reclamation, flooding — whether downstream/upstream — will be a threat. Groundwater recharge will be affected and temperature will rise due to construction," warned Thomas. State Biodiversity Board chairman N Anil Kumar said. "Reclamation of ecologically important places will affect fish breeding grounds. Wetlands attract migratory birds which fly thousands of kilometres for breeding. If there is no healthy system for its breeding, it will further impact their population. The local conversion has a global impact. Ramsar sites are declared for that purpose. It's important to declare more wetlands as Ramsar sites," he said.
The Hindu
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
This Thiruvananthapuram-based food stall serves popular Spanish dessert churros
A mild dampness takes over the air in Kuravankonam, Thiruvananthapuram following a lash of monsoon evening showers. The crowd around food trucks and kiosks here are missing, a rare sight in the area known for its street food spots. However, amidst the blaring horns and engines revving, it is a welcome surprise to hear the sizzle and the whiff of churros being fried at Moffles, a momo and churros stall located near the University Institute of Technology, Kuravankonam. While the name Moffles, a portmanteau of momos and waffles, might be confusing to customers, one of the owners, Akshay Krishna, has an explanation for it. 'When we decided to join the food industry in 2024, we wanted to start with momos and add waffles as a second product. It was difficult for us to set up an electricity connection to run the waffle iron here. By that time, we had already started business in December. In February, we added churros, a Spanish fried dessert, to our menu. Now it is our primary product,' says Akshay, who runs the business with his wife, Gowri Krishna. 'The dish is prepared by combining dry ingredients such as refined wheat flour, vanilla powder, skimmed milk powder, corn flour, and baking powder with butter, water, and vanilla essence,' explains Akshay. The dough is added to a custom-made metal canister, which is used to make idiyappam or string hopper. A star-shaped mould is used, and the dough is pushed through it into the oil, giving the churros its characteristic shape. It is crisp on the outside and has a soft cakey texture inside. 'People were hesitant to try it at first. For a month, we gave them churros to try. Even if they came to buy momos, we would give them churros as free samples. These people later became our repeat customers,' says Akshay, who discovered the sweet dish during one of his work trips to Thailand. 'Even though I came for momos, I tried the churros here. Normally, I am not into desserts, but I tried this because it was new and not sold at many places in the city,' says Sreenath SJ, a customer. The kiosk serves a variety of churros such as cinnamon churros, cheese churros and chocolate churros. It also offers varieties with dips such as choco hazelnut churros, white chocolate churros, orion pistachio churros and mixed chocolate churros. The prices start from ₹80. A special red velvet churro variety served with different dips is available at Moffles with a price starting from ₹100. Each plate has five churros, each 10 centimetres long. The churros can be customised too. 'I asked my sister in the USA what flavours of churros are available there and she told me about maple syrup and sugar. However, we didn't know whether those flavours would be accepted here so we started with milk chocolate, white chocolate, pistachios and hazelnut,' says Akshay. Their most popular item is the loaded strawberry churros, served in a bowl. The churro bites coated in cinnamon sugar are placed on a bed of chocolate sponge. This is further topped with strawberries and smothered in milk chocolate and hazelnut chocolate sauces. You will find bits of white chocolate in it too. The warm churros complement the rest of the items in the bowl in flavour and temperature. The hot churros with warm sauces and slightly cold slices of strawberries, offer combinations of flavours . It is also available with robusta bananas instead of strawberries. Moffles also serve a variety of momos and mojitos starting from ₹90 and ₹80 respectively. The eatery is going to open a second branch in Bengaluru in August. Moffles located near University Institute of Technology, Kowdiar- Pattom Road, Kuravankonam is open on all days from 6 pm to 12 midnight.
