a small presentation made for conservation planning and practices

1. CONSERVATION- PLANNING AND
PRACTICES
ASSIGNMENT
THE OLD RAILWAY STATION AND
MANGALAVANAM BIRD SANCTUARY
ERNAKULAM, KERALA
From Glory to Decay

2. In the heart of the city
of Ernakulam, Kerala,
there is a 22 acre land
and an abandoned old
railway station along
with a two hectare
mangrove wetland
bird sanctuary right
next to it

3. This was the first railway station
of Ernakulam or Kochi, built in
1902, by the Maharaja.
Mangalavanam: ‘green lung of Kochi'

4. In the 1905-30s the image on the left would be
totally different. The patch of land up to
Shanmugham Road was nonexistent.
Shanmugham Road ran next to the
backwaters- a mud road.

5. The market area is busy with activities and
there was an inland water canal that linked the
market to various other districts through which
goods were transported in boats- the canal
now is highly polluted and acts as a stagnant
drainage. The location for the railway station
was originally selected because it ran close to
the market. A boat jetty was also situated close
by from where people could travel to
Mattancherry and Vypeen.
When it was a popular haunt for people, there
was a coffee shop run by Spencer's at this
railway station. There was no electricity those
days, so the shop and platform was lighted up
by petromax lamps.

6. The Tale of a Rail, a King and his Crown
Rama Raja XV
• British Rail line from Madras to Malabar
• Raja tried to extend to Kochi
• British not interested
• HH invested Royal money, sold land,
ornaments- also public private
partnership-people invested. Help of
Dewan Rajagopalachari
• Rail line and station built
• British not happy
• Raja abdicated (‘mentally unstable’)

7. When train services started by Cochin State Railway
Service in 1902, thousands of people used it.
There were only 3-4 regular trains in this route, one
track and a circular track for the trains to turn.
The train comprised of only six or seven
coaches, mostly made out of wood with steel frames.
There were three separate classes and had a total
capacity of around two hundred passengers.
The third class was always crowded since they were
cheaper than the rest.

8. When the Cochin Port developed, it became imperative to
extend the railway track right up to the harbour. By 1929 the
present station, south of Ernakulam, came up. The track was
later extended to the Harbour in 1943. Thus the Ernakulam
terminus finally lost its significance. Till the early sixties, the old
railway station catered to passenger traffic. The Ernakulam
Terminus Station was later renamed Ernakulam Railway Goods
Station, and still later it was abandoned altogether.

9. • Mangalavanam, though a part
of the Railways land, was not
built on considering that it was
a marshy area. The place was
undisturbed and thus in the
thick mangrove forest, birds
started nesting and every year
it saw a huge flock of migratory
birds coming to nest here. The
tidal flows from Kochi
backwaters helped the marshy
ecosystem.
• Even when the station was
abandoned, Mangalavanam
acted as a haven for migratory
birds. It was called ‘green lung
of Kochi'. It is bordered by
Arabian Sea. A survey
conducted in 2006 revealed
that there were 194 birds
belonging to 32 species, six
species of mammals, two
species of amphibians, 17
species of butterflies and seven
species of fishes. A shallow
tidal lake bordered with this
thick mangrove vegetation is
connected to the Cochin
backwaters by a canal.

10. Station now..

11. • In 1980s, Greater Cochin Development Authority reclaimed land from Kochi
backwaters and Marine Drive was developed. Since coastal regulations did not
permit it, it did not become a Marine ‘Drive’, but a Marine walk way. The marine
drive area development is one-sided in favour of high rises. Ideally the master plan
should have been a mix of green belts, open grounds and multi-storied car parking
besides high rises. But the real estate mafia divided the land amongst
themselves. The land along this stretch is hugely priced, and the city guidelines
permitting the height to be 13 storeys, high rise structures have been built
throughout the stretch.
• Before 2000, the islands of Bolghatty, Vallarpadam and Vypeen had to be accessed
by ferry service, through inland water ways. But in 2000s Goshree bridges were
built connecting the islands, causing land values there also to sky rocket. This
increased the revenue of GCDA to a great extent as GCDA and Corporation own a
large chunk of reclaimed land in the Marine drive area, in Bolghatty and Vypeen.
The ferry service is almost dying, with only a few common people using it as this
mode is very cheap.
• The Kochi International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT), locally known as
the Vallarpadam Terminal, a container trans-shipment facility was conceived and
the first phase of this was built in 2011, the construction activities have huge
construction equipments like cranes frequently lifting up and down in
Vallarpadam, just 200 m from the Mangalavanam and Naval helicopters, jets and
surveillance airborne vehicles fly around over the area.
• Another new construction is the multi storey high court structure. All these
construction activities, high rises etc. caused the bird sanctuary to die out and now
it is just a chunk of land with waste heaped over it, no birds nesting and the marsh
is also highly polluted with all kinds of oil spills and wastes being dumped into the
backwaters.

12. Image of the mangrove forest and proposal for a new housing complex next to it.

13. ANALYSIS
The relocation of the main railway station was done because there was
a need to extend the railway line to the Port. But instead of crowding
the new railway station and congesting the city, the old railway station
and its beautiful colonial structures could have still been used for
passenger trains. In fact Railways have proposals to carry out various
development projects such as setting up a Railway Medical College,
Para Medical College and Suburban railway terminal. But doing these
entirely new structures will again disturb the area and the need for a
Railway Medical College in this location is unjustified. The Railways has
plans to start a suburban railway service from here to the suburbs. This
can work well, as the travelling time of public could be reduced by 20-
25 minutes if such a train service was started. The existing rail and
platform could be modified with minimum cost to operate suburban
train services. It could build additional platform and other
infrastructural facilities without resorting to land acquisition. But there
has been no progress in this direction; on the other hand Railways have
resorted to cutting down age old trees in the site, and neglecting the
station building which is covered with overgrown vegetation.

14. ANALYSIS
The reclamation of land and construction of high rises were attempts to
increase land area and thus give housing to more people. But as the
players which include the builder mafia, the Corporation, GCDA and
Government tried to increase their own revenue, the flats in the area
have become unaffordable to common people. The flats in the area cost
minimum Rs.45 lakh whereas most people in the city have an income
below Rs50,000 a month. The cost per sq. ft works out to be between
Rs4500 and Rs5000. The land value has gone up in the nearby islands
causing unaffordability there also, and people have started moving out
of the area. The livelihood of the people in these islands was mainly
fishing. This has gone down as fish die due to the oil spills and pollution.
And people are asked to move out by builders so that they can own
huge chunks of land in the overpriced areas. The construction of
Vallarpadam terminal and the railway line from this to Edappally has
caused massive construction and land acquisition. The "bird sanctuary"
at Mangalavanam is already dead for all practical purposes.

15. In fact people who have migrated from other areas to the city
are not even aware of the Old railway station or the bird
sanctuary. Neglect and development without vision has
caused the decay of both these areas. A conservation plan
which includes the restoration of the station and revival of the
bird sanctuary can be worked out, even though for the bird
sanctuary, it may be already too late. But this needs public
will, government initiative, awareness and participation to
achieve a common goal.

16. References
• Articles from ‘The Hindu’
• http://maddy06.blogspot.in/2009/11/kings-railway.html
• http://www.irfca.org/gallery/Trips/south/csr-erg/
• Wikipedia
• http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1443370&
page=5