Thanneermukkom Bund

The Thanneermukkom Bund, a salt-water barrier across Vembanad Lake, links Thanneermukkom in Cherthala taluk, Alappuzha district, with Vechoor in Vaikom taluk, Kottayam district. It was built in 1974 under the Kuttanad Development Scheme, working since 1976, to stop tides pushing salt water into the low-lying farmland of Kuttanad, where crops grow below sea level. No mud regulator in India is larger.

The barrier divides the lake in two: one side stays brackish, while the upstream side has become a freshwater coastal reservoir, the only one in India. Its shutters are opened in the monsoon to let floodwater through and closed for about six months afterwards. It has helped Kuttanad's farmers but brought problems too, including water hyacinth, polluted backwaters and fewer fish, and fishermen have opposed it. The bund can be reached by road from Kottayam, Alappuzha or Cherthala, with frequent buses.