Munroe Island is an inland island group located at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

Ashtamudi Lake Ashtamudi Lake (''Ashtamudi Kayal, ml: "അഷ്ടമുടിക്കായൽ" ''), in the Kollam District of the Indian state of Kerala is a unique wetland ecosystem and a large palm-shaped (also described as octopus-shaped) water body. ...

and the Kallada River, in

Kollam district Kollam district (), (formerly Quilon district) is one of 14 List of districts in Kerala, districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major La ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. It is a group of eight small islets comprising a total area of about 13.4 km². The island, accessible by road, rail and inland water navigation, is about from

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

by road, north from Paravur, west from

Kundara Kundara is a satellite town in Kerala and is part of the Kollam Metropolitan Area, India. Kundara is situated at the eastern end of Kollam city. Kundara is significant for its historic involvement in the Indian independence movement. Kundara w ...

and about from Karunagapally. , the administrative village of Mundrothuruth (which includes nearby small villages as well) has a total population of 9599, consisting of 4636 males and 4963 females. This island is also known as "Sinking Island of Kerala". The place is named in honour of Resident Colonel John Munro of the former Princely State of

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

. The islands measure in area.

History

In 1795 the British established their supremacy in South India and the princely state of

came under their governance. From 1800 onwards, a Resident was appointed by East India Company as administrative head of

. The first Resident was Colonel

Colin Macaulay Colin Macaulay (13 April 1760 – 20 February 1836), was a Scottish general, biblical scholar and Abolitionism in the United Kingdom, key activist in the campaign to abolish slavery. Early life Macaulay was a son of the Rev. John Macaulay (1720 ...

, followed by Colonel John Munro. During his tenure Munro oversaw the land reclamation efforts in the delta where Kallada River joins Ashtamudi Lake and the reclaimed island was named after him as Munroe Island. The Dutch Church here in Munroe Island is one of the ancient churches in

. It was built by the Dutch in 1878. The red brick church is a blend of Dutch-

architecture on the scenic banks of

Lake Ashtamudi Ashtamudi Lake (''Ashtamudi Kayal, Malayalam, ml: "അഷ്ടമുടിക്കായൽ" ''), in the Kollam District of the Indian state of Kerala is a unique wetland ecosystem and a large palm-shaped (also described as octopus-shaped) wa ...

. The villagers depended on coconut coir manufacturing as livelihood, however, post Indian Ocean tsunami, things have changed.

Tourism

The island village is a tourism destination where one can see the

coir Coir (), also called coconut fibre, is a natural fibre extracted from the outer husk of coconut, and used in products such as floor mats, doormats, brushes, and mattresses. Coir is the fibrous material found between the hard, internal shell ...

retting process, coir weaving, fishing, prawns feeding, migratory bird watch, narrow canals and waterways, coconut farms on the lake shore, lagoons,

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

plants and the beautiful tiny islands of Pathupara. Kallada Boat Race, which is one of the famous boat races in Kerala, is at Karuvathrakadavu- Muthiraparambu nettayam in Munroe Island.

Threat of submergence

Low-lying areas of the Island are reportedly under a threat of submerging in high tides. In 2016, an expert team from the Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering, Kollam had started a study into the phenomena at the request of the Munroethuruthu grama panchayat. The team headed by Prof. Gouri Antharjanam, Head, Department of Civil Engineering, visited the Island. Subsequently, geo-scientists from the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) conducted a two-year study from 2017 to 2019. They used observations from the satellite microwave interferometric technique and from an array of local GPS stations. They tentatively concluded that the Island is not subsiding. They found that only very heavy buildings that do not follow proper design standards have subsided up to . The double railway line, with up to 150 trains per day, and station platforms are also subsiding. The NCESS scientists found that a tide of at the coast translates to less than at Munroe Island. Hence,

global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

is also not a key problem. In 2022, a team fro
Sree Narayana Public School, Vadakkevila, Kollam
had conducted a preliminary study on the impact of Kallada Dam on the ecology of Munroe Island. The team conducted a survey among the residents of Munroe island and handed over the report to the District Collector of

. The island's population has been steadily declining due to an exodus of people unable to cope with the living conditions. The death of Lance Naik B. Sudheesh of this island in the Border area at

Siachen Glacier The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range of the Himalayas, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends in northeastern Kashmir. At long, it is the longest glaci ...

spurred interest of the outer world in the problems of this place. Villagers fear subsiding of the land, and they suffer due to the lack of transport and other amenities. Land prices have fallen as they migrate elsewhere for better opportunities. The problems may have been exacerbated by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 that changed the backwater system and resulted in increased salinity of the soil.

Gallery

File:Munroe Island in Kerala 3.jpg, Saambranikkodi of Munroe Island File:Munroe island.jpg, Munroe island in

File:Munroe Island in Kerala01 2.jpg, Munroe island railway station File:Munroe Island in Kerala01.jpg, Saambranikkodi boat jetty File:Munroe Island in Kerala 5.jpg, Saambranikkodi at Munroe Island File:Night view of the lake.jpg File:Small boat near the bank.jpg File:UninhabitedIslandinMunroe.JPG, Uninhabited island in Munroe File:Munroe Island Tourism.jpg, Tourism in Munroe Island

References

External links