VILLAGE FIELDWORK SEGMENT (VFS)

PRMX 01

A REPORT

Exploratory Study of Village: Kodiyakadu

Gram Panchayat: Kodiyakadu

DISTRICT: Nagapattinam
STATE: Tamil Nadu

HOST ORGANISATION: BEDROC

Prepared by:
Amit Kumar (X01004) and Pankaj Singh (X01019)

In partial fulfilment of the requirement of the FWS

of the
Executive Post Graduate Programme in
Rural Management

INSTITUTE OF RURAL MANAGEMENT ANAND

APRIL 2019
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

There are times when silence speaks more than words. The admiration only sometimes
disparages a person’s contribution. Through this acknowledgement we want to express our
gratitude and warmth to all those who helped us during the village fieldwork study.

We are extremely thankful to Institute of Rural Management (IRMA) Anand for providing us
this distinctive opportunity. We would like to thank our faculty guide Prof. Indranil De, Prof.
Shyam Singh, Prof. Mukul Kumar for providing their valuable time and timely guidance which
helped us in understanding and analyzing the impact of Social Norms and Women Workforce
participation through well instructed protocols. We also acknowledge the Village Fieldwork
Chair, Prof. Satyendra Pandey and VFS Office, IRMA for providing us this exciting and
insightful opportunity.

We would also like to express our sincere thanks to our host organisations BEDROC, Dr.
Santosh Nair, Thiru Satyasheelan, Thiru Sarvanan, Thiru Vadivel, Thiru Sudan, Saranya,
Sankhya for providing us all the facilities and assisting our stay in the village and for
supporting and helping us throughout the study.

We are very thankful to the people of Kodiyakadu and Kodiyakarai for accepting us and
letting us being a part of the village for this duration. We can never repay the love and care
through mere words.

We are thankful to our fellow PRMX 01 participants, PRMX Chair Sh. Paresh Bhatt, Sr.
Programme Officer Mrs. Vandana Shah for their suggestions and guidance throughout.
Finally, we dedicate this report to the people of Kodiyakadu and Kodiyakarai who overcame
the vicious tides of tsunami and Gaja Cyclone. We salute their resilience and their zeal
towards rebuilding their village into a peaceful and contented village.

Amit Kumar
Pankaj Singh

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 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AM Ante Meridiem
APL Above Poverty Line
ASHA Accredited Social Health Activist
ATM Automated Teller Machine
BC Backward Class
BCG Bacillus Calmette - Guerin vaccine
ºBe Baume Scale
BEDROC Building and Enabling Disaster Resilience of Coastal Communities
BPL Below Poverty Line
CaCO3 Calcium Carbonate
CMCHIS Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme
DNC Denotified Community
DSW Distillery Spent Wash
DTH Direct to Home
ESP Exchangeable Sodium Percentage
ESV Exploratory Study of the Village
FGD Focus Group Discussion
FPCR Faculty Participant Collaborative Research
HH Household
IAY Indira Awaas Yojana
ICAR Indian Council of Agriculture Research
ICDS Integrated Child Development Services
ID Identity Document
IRMA Institute of Rural Management
KM Kilometre
MGNREGA Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
MBC Most Backward Class
NaCl Sodium Chloride
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
NREGS National Rural Employment Generation Scheme
NRHM National Rural Health Mission
PDS Public Distribution Centre
PHC Primary Health Centre
POC Point of Contact
PM Post Meridiem
PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal
RAC Rural Action Component
RF Reserve Forest
SC Scheduled castes
SCO Salt Commissioner’s Organisation
SHG Self Help Group
SSNM Site Specific Nutrient Management

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ST Scheduled Tribe
TNEB Tamil Nadu Electricity Board
TV Television
VFS Village Fieldwork Segment

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 Table of Content
Page No.
Acknowledgement ii
List of Abbreviations iii
List of Figures vii
List of Tables viii
1. Introduction and Methodology 1
1.1 Objective 1
1.2 Challenges Faced 1
1.3 Methodology Used 1
1.3.1 Primary Source of Data Collection 2
1.3.2 Secondary Source 2
1.4 About Kodiyakadu 3
1.4.1 Name 3
1.4.2 Location 3
1.4.3 Village Profile 4
1.4.4 Climate 5
1.4.5 Water Resources 5
1.4.6 Dairy, Poultry and Fish 5
1.4.7 Salt Pan 6
1.4.8 Historical Background 6
2. Village Society 6
2.1 Demography 6
2.1.1 Population 6
2.1.2 Caste Structure 8
2.1.3 Average Family Size 9
2.1.4 Pattern of Settlement 10
2.2 Health 10
2.2.1 Sanitation Practices 10
2.3 Education 11
2.3.1 Current Scenario 11
2.4 Communication and Media 12
2.4.1 Telecommunication 12
2.4.2 Post Office 13
2.4.3 News Paper 13
2.4.4 Television 13
2.5 Migration 13
2.6 Culture 13
2.7 Conflict and Cooperation 15
2.8 Infrastructure 15
2.8.1 Transport 15
2.8.2 Warehouse and Cold Storage 15
2.8.3 Sports Facilities 16

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 2.8.4 Electricity 16
2.8.5 Agriculture and Irrigation 16
2.8.6 Drainage System 18
2.8.7 Drinking Water Facilities 18
3. Village Economy and Livelihood 19
3.1 Salt Extraction 19
3.1.1 Introduction 19
3.1.2 Salt Collection, Packing and Transportation 20
3.1.3 Challenges Faced 23
3.2 Fisheries 24
3.3 Shocks 24
3.3.1 Natural Disaster 24
3.4 Other Job 26
3.5 Business 26
3.6 Consumption 26
3.7 Markets 26
3.8 Labourers 26
3.8.1 Wage Labourers 26
3.8.2 Child Labourers 26
3.9 Assets Available in Village 27
4. Village Polity 27
4.1 Village Meeting 27
4.2 Government Schemes and Services 30
4.2.1 Distribution of freebies (Fan, Mixer, Grinder) 30
4.2.2 ICDS 30
4.2.3 ASHA Worker 30
4.2.4 Mid Day Meal Scheme 30
4.2.5 NRHM 30
4.2.6 PDS 31
5. Village Institutions 31
5.1 Formal Institutions 31
5.1.1 Government School 31
5.2 Banks and Micro-credit facilities 32
5.3 PHC 32
5.4 Anganwadis Centre 33
6. Thematic Insight 34
6.1 FPCR: Social Norms and Women Workforce Participation 34
6.2 RAC (Rural Action Component) 35
6. Conclusion 38
7. References 42

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 LIST OF FIGURES
Page No.
Figure 1: Procedure for Data Collection 2
Figure 2: Secondary Source of Data Collection 3
Figure 3: Location of Kodiyakadu in Indian Map 4
Figure 4: Sex Ratio 7
Figure 5: Poverty Ratio 7
Figure 6: Category Wise Distribution 8
Figure 7: Sub Caste in BC Community 9
Figure 8: Literacy Rate Comparison 12
Figure 9: Soil Map of Nagapattinam District 17
Figure 10: Sources of Income 19
Figure 11: Flow Chart for Chemical Salt Extraction (Non-edible) 22
from Chemplast
Figure 12: Picture of Salt Pan 22
Figure 13: A Couple (Husband and Wife) Scrapping Salt Pan 23
Figure 14: Salt Packing with Hands 23
Figure 15: Destroyed Office and Home after Gaja Cyclone 25
Figure 16: Assets of Village 27
Figure 17: Primary Health Centre 33
Figure 18: Types of Houses 39
Figure 19: Social/ Resource Map of Kodiyakadu 40
Figure 20: Interaction with government primary school students 40
Figure 21: Interaction with MGNREGA Secretary 41
Figure 22: Historical Monument Ramar Paatham 41
Figure 23: Salt Pan Area 41

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 LIST OF TABLES
Page No.
Table 1: Village Profile 4
Table 2: Temperature and Rainfall Distribution 5
Table 3: Community/ Caste Wise Distribution 9
Table 4: Poverty Ratio 9
Table 5: List of Education Institutions 12
Table 6: List of Festivals 14
Table 7: Ex-Elected Representative of Kodiyakadu 29
Table 8: Important Timeline of Kodiyakadu 29
Table 9: Primary School Statistics (Class I to V) 31
Table 10: Different Health Schemes 33

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1. INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY
Kodiyakadu (is a village situated in Vedaranyam Block in Nagapattinam District of
Tamil Nadu State, India. It is located 363 KM from State capital Chennai, almost 63 KM
towards South of Nagapattinam and 19 KM from Vedaranyam block. The village was
identified by BEDROC, our partnering NGO as part of our village fieldwork segment (VFS)
at IRMA.
First in 2004, this village got severely affected by Tsunami and then on 16th November,
2018 the Gaja cyclone brought the distraught to the normal life of saltpan workers and
Fishermen. Many thatched and tiled roof houses were damaged, as many as 20 Boats of the
fishermen of village went missing, the work in saltpan halted due to damage to Sanmar factory.
This left all the families of the village affected. All the economic activities stopped for not less
than three months as per the Panchayat secretary and president. Government food and other
aid services took 5-10 days to reach to common people. Though small relief work and doctors
team arrived in time saving many life but poor supply of drinking water during the period made
many dehydrated and have to be hospitalized as per the Dr. Shivranjanam at Government PHC.
Many schemes to rehabilitate the affected population were introduced by governmental
authorities. Our NGO, BEDROC, is currently working in the village on child development
project. This study was carried out to understand life of saltpan workers and fishermen, the
condition of the village Kodiyakadu, their concerns related to livelihood and to design an
intervention for the saltpan workers.

1.1 Objective
Following objectives were identified before VFS journey:
1. To have a first-hand rural exposure.
2. To study relation of village with institutions be it govt., private or NGO.
3. To study cultural, social and economic interactions that govern the village including polity.

1.2 Challenges Faced

1. The team members were not familiar with the local language.
2. Few people looked reluctant to share information especially government offices and
Sanmar group.
3. Arrangement for food was not easy, though we managed to find some roadside food joints
which were meant to provide food to fishermen and saltpan workers.

1.3 Methodology Used

Information and data about the village was collected using multiple sources and point
of contact (POC). Following Figure.1 depicts the procedure of information and data collection
across different sources

1
 Source of
Data

Primary Secondary

Non
Personal Focus Group Governmental
Observation PRA Governmental
Interviews Discussions Organizations
organizations

Figure 1: Procedures for Data Collection

1.3.1 Primary Sources of data collection

Interviews: To build in affinity with the locals we met the salt pan workers and visited
fishermen houses, interacted with them and their families. Informal interviews gave us the
insights towards understanding the village life.

Focus Group Discussions (FGDs): By providing the group a topic regarding livelihood, social
norms and impact of government schemes on their lives, we found lot of common as well as
distinct views on the same topic. We saw agreements and disagreements and recorded them,
thus it became an important tool to understand the sensitivities and beliefs of the masses.

Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA): Participatory rural appraisal is a useful tool to assess and
learn that empowers local village population to create an information base by participatory
planning and action. It helped us to gather facts and figures about the village on paper and gave
many understandings. It gave us a head start in gathering facts in a more participatory way.

Observations: Surveying and sampling along with transect walks; social mapping gave a sense
of rural life of salt pan worker and fishermen. Community Venn diagram gave us the insight
into their relations and social contacts. We also used daily observations that lead us to recognize
their daily activities, social networks and polity of the village.

Case Study: The case study was used to get a closer and in-depth knowledge about the village.
Through a detailed examination of the given subject we were able to relate the facts and data
to suitable situations.

1.3.2 Secondary Sources

To get sense of larger picture about the village we used secondary sources for
information. The major sources of secondary data are presented in Figure 2.

2
 Government Non-
Organizations Government/Private
Entities

Gram Panchayat
office BEDROC

School Fisherman society

office

Post office
Sanmar Company

Forest office Salt Pan Worker

office

Aanganwadi

Primary Health
Centre

Figure 2: Secondary Sources of Data Collection

1.4 About Kodiyakadu

1.4.1 Name
Kodiyakadu means the last forest. This is a celebrated place of Kulakargoli with its
temple for Amirthakadeshwar/ Kuzhar temple. It is a Hindu Temple dedicated to lord Shiva
and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam, originally have been built by Cholas having several
inscriptions of this period, it has six daily rituals at various times from 5:30 AM to 8 PM, with
three yearly festivals on its calendar. The annual Brahmotsav is attended by thousands. There
lays structure housing a pair of blocks of foot print said to be of lord Rama “Rama Padam”.
Large number of devotees gathers here to celebrate Ramnavami in second week of April. Forest
Management practices started in 1892 with creation of 14.75 sq. KM forest having some
temples inside it.

1.4.2 Location
Kodiyakadu is located in the southernmost part of Nagapattinam district and comes
under Vedaranyam Taluka. Coordinates of Kodiyakadu are (10°16'54"N, 79°49'30"E). The
altitude is 6 meters above sea level. It is 9 KM from Vedaranyam town and 363 KM from State
capital Chennai. Nearby villages are Madavilagam (10 KM), Vedaranyam (9 KM), Adhanur
(11 KM), Pannal (12KM), Karuppampulam (12 KM). It shares boundary with Kodiakarai
village. Kodiyakadu is surrounded by Muthupettai Block towards west, Thalanayar Block

3
towards North, Keelaiyur Block towards North, Tirutturaippundi Block towards North
Thiruthuraipoondi, Nagapattinam, Thiruvarur are the nearby Cities to Kodiyakadu.

Figure 3: Location of Kodiyakadu in Indian Map

1.4.3 Village profile

Table 1: Village profile (Kodiyakadu)

Village Kodiyakadu
Taluk Vedaranyam
District Nagapattinam
State Tamil Nadu
Total area 570.87 hectares
Member of Parliament Dr. K. Gopal
Member of Legislative Assembly O.S. Manian
Number of Households 1120
Total Population 4863
Number of Males 1960
Number of Females 1824
Number of Children 1079
Sex ratio (M:F) 1000:931
East Boundary Bay of Bengal
West Boundary Thondiyakkadu Wildlife Sanctuary
South Boundary Kodakarai
North Boundary Agasthiyanpalli

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 1.4.4 Climate
Kodiyakadu has a tropical climate during the summer months of March to September.
The closeness to the sea results in a high humidity throughout the year, which reaches 80%
during August to May. This place experiences heavy showers during the months of October,
November and December. Due to which their main occupation, i.e., Salt extraction comes to
halt. Below is the year wise distribution pattern of temperature and rainfall for Kodiyakadu.

Table 2: Temperature and Rainfall Distribution

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average 28.6 29.7 31.8 33.4 34.8 35 34.1 33.4 33.1 31.3 29.2 28.2 31.9
high °C
-84 -86 -89 -92 -95 -95 -93 -92 -92 -88 -85 -83 -89.4
(°F)
Average 22.2 22.8 24.3 26.3 27.1 26.8 26.5 25.7 25.7 24.8 23.7 22.7 24.9
low °C
-72 -73 -76 -79 -81 -80 -80 -78 -78 -77 -75 -73 -76.8
(°F)
Av. 78 18 21 55 57 23 64 82 96 265 418 256 1,433
Rainfall
(mm)
(inches) -3.1 -0.7 -0.8 -2.2 -2.2 -0.9 -2.5 -3.2 -3.8 -10 -17 -10 -56.4

1.4.5 Water Resources

Village has 20 ponds which mostly get dry during in summers (March to September)
and gets recharged during rainy season (October to December). Around 23 wells are present in
the village and ownership is mostly private. Village has water supply pipeline network
connected to an overhead tank constructed on the outskirts of village which fetches water from
a local river in Trichy (Kollidam). The pipeline reaches to every part of the village. At every
3-4 houses one common tap is fixed on the road/street. Due to Tsunami and some damages in
underground pipes some houses and areas may remain deprived of water. For such situations
some hand pumps had been provided though the quality of water is uneven (salty). The supply
water is available every alternate day for 2 hrs. This allows each family to fill up to 3 plastic
containers of 15 ltrs each. As each family requires more water for bathing and other household
purposes, thus villagers have to buy water from tankers @ Rs. 5 per 15-20 ltrs. The altitude of
the village being low therefore seawater influences ground water salinity.

1.4.6 Dairy, Poultry and Fish

Kodiyakadu has very less cows (less than 20) mostly non-descript due to unavailability of
fodder. The soil and water quality for irrigation is not suitable for growing common fodder
varieties. Though when enquired from Tamil Nadu dairy federation officer, he informed that
hybrid Napier can be cultivated in this coastal region. Organized milk cooperative society or
private dairy milk collection center, thus rearing of cows for marketing milk is not in practice.
Some families have started rearing goats and poultry to support their living. After cyclone

5
government has helped few families to rear goat with an assistance of Rs. 12000 and free 2
vaccinations and deworming in a year. Around 460 HHs have goats. There is a small fish
market in the village. Every second household is involved in fishing and currently there are 10
boats in the village. Each boat employs approx.10-15 persons. Others either are employed on
boats of other villages or go fishing in a tributary of Cauvery River in Delta. Monkeys are also
present on the outskirts of the village. Dogs are common in the village.

1.4.7 Salt Pan

Salt is an essential commodity with inelastic demand. Since salt has been needed from
time immemorial, man has used his intellectual and environmental resources for selecting the
place and choosing the mode of manufacture of salt all through history. Kodiyakadu has large
salt pan of more than 3500 acres being on lease with Sanmar Pvt. Limited a company of
Chemplast ltd. As many as 1350 people work for Sanmar on daily wages, earning Rs. 250-350
per day depending upon the quantity of salt produced. This provides 9 months of direct labor
to the big population here. Recently due to cyclone Gaja the work stopped for 3 months, which
has affected Kodiyakadu saltpan workers dearly.

1.4.8 Historical Background

Kodiyakadu has a unique history with its temple Amirthakedeshwar/ Kuzhar.
According to the legend the hero of Ramayana, Rama tried to cross the sea to Srilanka from
this place. This area was quite active during the national movement of salt satyagrah under the
leadership of C. Rajagopalachari with help of Vedratnam Pillai who belonged to nearby town
of Vedranyam. The forests of Point Calimere, in Nagapattinam District of Tamil Nadu, were
notified as the Kodiyakadu RF and the Kodiyakadu Extension RF in 1907. These comprised
an area of 1729 ha. There are two villages in the area, Kodiyakarai and Kodiyakadu, about 11
Km south of Vedaranyam town. In June 1967, the Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary was
notified with an area of 2147 ha. The sanctuary derives its name from an outcrop into the sea
called Point Calimere, where the coastline makes a 90o turns, marking the boundary between
the Bay of Bengal and the Palk Strait. In 1988, the Great Vedaranyam Swamp and the
Talaignayar RF were added to form the proposed Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary,
comprising an area of 37,733 ha. There is a masjid for Muslim prayers in Kodiyakadu known
as Mohideen Masjid.

2. VILLAGE SOCIETY
2.1 Demography
2.1.1 Population
The total population of Kodiyakadu is 4863 comprising of 1960 male and 1824 female
and 1079 children. In the village Hindus are in majority with some Muslim population and few
Christian families. The sex ratio is 931 females to 1000 males which is less as compared to the
sex ratio of the state Tamil Nadu which is 996 females against 1000 males. Even it is below the
National average of 943:1000, indicating something amiss, though while speaking to the locals or
the doctor at PHC, clear cut answers to preferential biases towards male child was not found.
In Kodiyakadu village population of children with age 0-6 is 311 which makes up 10.08 % of

6
total population of village. Child Sex Ratio for the Kodiyakadu as per census is 862, lower than
Tamil Nadu average of 943. Kodiyakadu village has lower literacy rate compared to Tamil
Nadu. In 2011, literacy rate of Kodiyakadu village was 70.48 % compared to 80.09 % of Tamil
Nadu. In Kodiyakadu Male literacy stands at 77.69 % while female literacy rate was 63.91 %.
The average literacy of village is lower as compared to state average; this could be attributed
to the hardship that the people are facing here in daily lives. Struggles to livelihood may not
have allowed people to study beyond a point, but now due government initiatives for improving
literacy rate of the state, it looks most of the children are attending the schools regularly. Girl
children were freely attending their schools. Though they did inform us about their initial
struggles while moving from primary to secondary classes, to our surprise they found Maths
interesting. Dowry in the village looks to be present and inter caste marriages/love marriage is
uncommon and not supported by society. Schedule Caste (SC) constitutes 6.29 % of total
population in Kodiyakadu village. The village Kodiyakadu currently doesn’t have any
Schedule Tribe (ST) population.

Figure 4: Sex Ratio

Figure 5: Poverty Ratio

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2.1.2 Caste Structure
The entire village is occupied with people from different sub castes but can be broadly
classified under 4 structures: BC (Backward Community), MBC (Most Backward
Community), DNC (De-Notified Community) and SC (Scheduled Castes). The MBC comprise
roughly 80%, SC forming around 19% and BC with 1%.

Figure 6: Category wise distribution

As evident from the figures we observe that people from MBC and SC are more and
therefore enjoy a good say in local polity. The areas of the village have been divided into 8
hamlets and hamlets for SC is quite evidently poorer than rest of the area. As such caste
discrimination is denied but during interviews it was revealed that MBCs’ and BC population
avoid dining at SC household. They would visit SC households but only drink cold drinks and
avoid taking food. Most of the agricultural fields belong to BC and MBC, SC population do
not own land. SC population work as labourers in MGNREGA, Agri fields. Fishing boats also
belong to BC and MBC, therefore most of them work as daily wage in salt pan or helpers on
boat.

Untouchability was denied by majority but its presence was evident as SC community
were hesitating to sit in front of MBC at common meeting places. They were not welcome
inside the households of BC or their MBC counterparts.

The people from SC were mostly under “Parayar and Pallar” sub-caste. Those from
MBC were “Andipandaram and Ambalakarar”.

The different sub castes in BC community living in the village are represented in the
following Figure 7.

8
 Veerkodi
Vellal
Pillai

Devar Mudaliyar

BC
COMMUNITY

Figure 7: Sub Caste in BC Community

The respective number of people in each community is given by the tabulated below:

Table 3: Community/Caste wise distribution

S. No Caste Male Female Total

1 MBC 1149 1244 2393
2 SC 640 584 1224
3 BC 12 19 31
Total 1801 1847 3648

Table 4: Poverty ratio

S. No Category No. of Households

1 BPL 788
2 APL 180
Total 968

2.1.3 Average Family Size

The average family size is 3-4. Generally, the family included the parents and kids.
Most of the families were nuclear family with some exceptions as well. There were some
families living with old grandparents. Some well-off families had the average family size
greater than the village average.

9
2.1.4 Pattern of Settlement
People seemed to live in caste settlements and they usually passage along with their
caste affiliates. Hamlets were also divided based on caste equations. For public assemblies and
official get-togethers, people considered to stick with their groups. The structure of housing
had also revealed the caste wise pattern representing their traditional settlements. BC and MBC
houses were better and bigger compared to SC people. Also it looked the families whose
children are in job either at Chennai or abroad (gulf countries) are well off. Muslim houses
were bigger and better build due to this reason.

The residences of BC were pucca houses and were well constructed. The residences of
MBC range from pucca to semi-pucca houses. The SC households were mostly kaccha ones.
A striking feature was that these were located on the outskirts of the village compared to the ones
from other mainstream communities.

2.2 Health
Rice is the staple food along with vegetables, egg and lot of marine catch
(fishes/prawns) form a part of their everyday meal. Idly, Sambhar, Dosa, Fish fries, chicken
and egg make most of the diet of the people of Kodiyakadu. Every household is provided
subsidized 25 Kg Rice (free), 2 Kg Sugar and 2 ltr. of Kerosene. As informed, school going
children receive free mid-day meal and alternatively egg in their diet. Salt pan workers have work
related health problems, foot ulcers, renal and eye cataract. Some people have been detected with skin
cancer in past.

Work also keep them fit than common city population, as being fit for the daily wage
is need, the loading and unloading of salt in salt pan keeps them fit. Chewing tobacco is quite
common and mix of harsh tough conditions may cause few lifestyle diseases. Financial support
during need from community, self-help groups if they are members, govt. health schemes
(health insurance), little support from Sanmar Pvt. Ltd. and having a PHC in vicinity helps the
people to a great extend in case of any health emergency.

2.2.1 Sanitation Practices

Kodiyakadu village has been declared open defecation free under Swachh Bharat
Scheme and it may be noted that everyone in the village is aware about toilets and its role in
sanitation. Yet we came across few families which are yet to build toilets in their home. Under
the scheme certain families were left and could not get the assistance of Rs. 12000 to build the
toilet at their home.
Row houses with narrow village streets and unplanned open drains looks generally
clean in summer but the people do informed about water stagnation during rainy season. On
the sides of streets we may see poster on not using polythene but we may see plastic lying
beside the road. Schools and government institutions have dustbins but a proper solid and liquid
waste management was not found in place. The surroundings near houses were generally

10
cleaner and people looked a bit bothered for cleanliness outside their houses. Dumping of waste
into public plots and barren land was observed around eatery joints in the village.

At household level, food waste is sometimes disposed which degrades as manure while
non- degradable plastic bottles, wrappers, packets may be burned once or twice a month by
some households.

2.3 Education
Parents and elders of the family prefer their kids to attain formal schooling since basic
infrastructure like primary school is in the village and secondary and higher secondary school is in
nearby village of Kodiyakarai. There is not much strain on part of the children to travel for the
sake of study. Schools have drinking water facility, toilets only on ground floor were clean, as
there is water shortage cleaning toilets at all the floors is an issue. Recently a smart classroom
has come up in the school. School also have auto dispenser for sanitary napkins for girl
students, available for Rs. 5 each. Both these initiatives have come up by intervention of
BEDROC. BEDROC also supports the children with evening classes at their sub-center in
Kodiyakadu.

2.3.1 Current Scenario

The boys and the girls recognize the financial crisis faced by their families and hence
there was a trend to discontinue schooling after the age of 15. But now, the children want to
study more, one of the main reasons that has got even the parents support is launch of “Midday Meal”
scheme that provides satisfactory dietary requirement for these students. This wasn’t available
to the children before since their parents had to work on salt pan which has irregular shifts.
Some other government schemes has also helped children coming to school, especially for BC,
MBC, SC population like free education (no fees, free books & dress) and scholarships, bicycle
and laptop distribution to girl child and supporting girls even at time of marriage if they
complete 12th or graduation. Though these initiative looks small but this small financial support
is driving families to send their children to study. While speaking to some graduate students
who have done diploma in engineering do not continue to work as salt pan worker or
agriculturist. As government jobs are few in number, they are searching jobs in Chennai or
planning to go to Gulf countries for better future. We should also recognize the good salaries
for teachers and their effort in bringing the children to school. NGOs like BEDROC have also
chipped in and thereby village people understand the importance of good education.

There was no discrimination faced by either a girl or a boy in terms to access to

education and it was purely their decision. There is more to be done on the part of bringing education
using latest tools and smart teaching methods. Use of internet and knowledge of operating basic computer,
computer education will take these village pupils a long way.

11
Table 5: List of Education Institutions

S. No Institution Distance from the village

1 Primary School (1 in number) Within
2 Middle school (1 in number) 1 km away
3 Higher Secondary 1 km away
4 Polytechnic & Engineering College 9 KM
5 Arts and Science College 9 Km away

Figure 8: Literacy rate comparison

As evident from the bar graph presented it can be interpreted that the village’s literacy
rate is close to the state’s literacy rate and recent trends suggest that it could become better in the
future. No untouchability or discrimination based on caste, creed or religion was practiced in
schools. Basic facilities like separate toilets for boys and girls was accessible. At primary
school number of staff was only 3 as against 270 students which seems inadequate though 12
teachers for 300 students in higher secondary was adequate. Pupil and teacher relation looked
cordial and teachers looked well trained in their subjects. Mid-day meal scheme in the schools
was decent and there were no quality and related problems that the students faced. They were
prepared on a regular basis with utmost concern.

2.4 Communication and Media

2.4.1 Telecommunication
Most of the households have access to mobile phones and cable TV. Some children also
have access to laptops and mobile internet. There is also an internet, printing and Xerox
machine shop in the village. To our surprise when the children were asked about internet as
one of medium for education they were not very sure of it as they use it mostly for social

12
networking or gaming. Fishermen use telephone to know the fish market prices of different
places and accordingly plan their coming back from the sea. Any warning of cyclone and
mishap is immediately conveyed through mobiles and thus it is playing a great role in their
daily lives.

2.4.2 Post office

A post-office within village Kodiyakadu is available, though a bigger branch with
saving accounts facility is available in nearby village in Kodiyakarai. Now-a-days, the primary
function of the post office has been reduced to collecting telephone and electricity bills.

2.4.3 Newspaper
All kinds of newspaper are available, however most of them are in regional language
(i.e.) Tamil. The various dailies available are:

a) Dinamalar
b) Dinathanthi
c) Dinakaran
d) Malai Murasu
e) Time of India

2.4.4 Television
Sun TV direct is available as main DTH connection in the households. Almost all the
households possess a television set. Satellite TV connection has helped in bringing information
to the people of Kodiyakadu and thus they are exposed to the outer world developments. This
has created more aspired youths. Though most of them only prefer to watch Tamil programs,
this may restrict their ideas of growth and development. But, this has helped consumerism and
thus supermarkets/shops keep different brand products in Kodiyakadu.

2.5 Migration
A stable salt pan job and nearby seashore brings lot of moving population in the village
from nearby villages. While educated youngsters are moving out in search of better opportunities
and lifestyle as they have seen their parents not able to escape the debt trap and struggle. Some have
already gone to Gulf countries and occasionally visit their home. Many graduate are planning to
shift to work in these destinations. This has created lot of nuclear families, and many times
elderly people left alone at home. No one is complaining about the situation while everyone
understands the need and the reasons for migration.

2.6 Culture
Wearing traditional cloths, both for men and women, offering morning and evening
prayers to the lord Shiva and Ganesha, are commonly practiced. The ladies wear Sari, put
Mangalsutra and ‘Gajra’ in hair. Fairs, festivals, ceremonies, celebrations and rituals are

13
 aspects which assist the preservation of customs. They assist the society to be self-conscious,
united, purposive, and prosperous and progressive. The festivals are significant because they
bring people of various sects, castes and classes nearer to each other. They bring unity and
solidarity amidst multifarious diversities. They make the people to be happy. "They bring fun
and laughter and good feeling to people whose lives might otherwise be drab and dull and they
remind people, year after year, of a special event or happening something that might otherwise
be forgotten as the years go by”. The Hindus, Christians and Muslims in Kodiyakadu village
have their own religious festivals. They celebrate them according to the principles of their own
religious faiths.

Table 6: List of Festivals

Hindu Festivals
Occasion Activity Reason Time
Pongal/Tamizhar Pongal and other sweets are Harvest festival and tribute January 13
Tirunal made to Sun to 16/ Thai Month
Mahashivaratri Offerings and Night of Shiva and respect February-March/
gifting/Sacrifice to Kailasa/ Heaven Masi Month
Tamil New year Prepare sweets and snacks, Celebrate the new April 14
or Pathandu or Kollams in front of houses beginning
Varushapirappu
Ayudha Pooja Machines, roles, implements For well-being of family Late September
and books are worshipped/ and the belongings
Kolus or dolls are arranged
Diwali Bursting crackers and Celebrate to mark the Late October
making sweets destruction of the demon
Narakasura by Lord
Krishna.
Karhikeya Display of clay or brass lamps Festival of great beauty, Karthikai Month
Deepam is arranged both in temples sacred to Siva (November-
and in homes December).
Muslim Festivals
Ramzan (Id-ul- Fasting for thirty days in Prayers and offering to Based on Moon
fitr) and Bakrid Ramzan and Id-ul-zulha is Allah and remembering the sighting
(Id-ul-zulha) celebrated to commemorate learning from prophet
the sacrifice of a son that one
of the Prophets of Islam

Christian families celebrate Christmas and Ester. It is during these festive seasons the
youngsters who migrate from the village come back home to experience and feel the unique
touch that they have and to share the bonding with their family members.

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2.7 Conflict and Cooperation
As such not much of conflicts between BC, MBC community was observed, this could
be because both are almost equal in terms of economic prosperity. Numbers are also not much
different and thus as such conflicts are not visible. Though small political rivalry may be
observed and same may be aggravated during local elections. The local panchayat elections
have not taken place since last two years therefore everything seems to be clam. The members
of SC/ST community, Muslims and Christians themselves exercise restriction while interacting
with the rest of village. It was observed that the youth did not encourage such practices.
The area being close to coast, the human and nature conflicts are observed more. There
is dearth of good potable water, tough laws to protect sanctuaries restrict industrial growth. Sea
lines aren’t deep enough for having port activities and thus only small boats are used for fishing.
Agricultural land is not much suited for paddy or other crops hence only Tobacco is cultivated.
Fisheries is ban during Monsoon and also the salt pan work stops during the same period, thus
the 3-4 months of the year are very tough for the people of Kodiyakadu.

2.8 Infrastructure
2.8.1 Transport
Roads: Kodiyakadu is located between on the way between Vedaranyam and Kodiyakarai. A
Road passes through the center of the village provides connectivity to both the block and further
the Nagapattinam. Some asphaltic roads within Kodiyakadu are running between row houses,
yet many areas have kuchha or sand gravel roads. Mode of transport for is bus and two
wheelers. Buses start plying from 6 AM and last bus comes upto 10 PM, frequented every half
an hour. In Kodiyakadu some youths have purchased autos which mostly ply between
Vedaranyam and Kodiyakarai. People do own private vehicles as well. Children use bicycles
to go to school.

Railway linkages: There is no railway station nearby, closest railway is Vedaranyam Railway
station which is 15 km and Velankanni railway station is located around 42 km from the village.

Airport: The nearest airport is the Trichy airport located at a distance of around 165 km.
International flights for the people going for work to other countries use this airport.

2.8.2 Warehouse and Cold Storage

Absence of a warehouse for salt storage for small and medium entrepreneurial farmers and cold
storage for fish storage is preventing growth of the people of the Kodiyakadu village. Recently
one warehouse was constructed near salt pan between Vedaranyam and Kodiyakadu, but
inflected heavy damage during Gaja cyclone. Some farmers do own and maintain temporary
structures made with thatch for storing and preserving salt from environmental factors such as
sand and dust. These structures are supported using wooden logs that provide the resistance
against slithering. There are small fish markets both in Kodiyakadu and Kodiyakarai, where
the fishermen have to sell their fish on daily basis based price fixed by private companies
located in Trichy and Chennai. A small cold storage will enable the fishermen to keep the fishes

15
stored for and may get better prices for the catch. An immediate intervention for warehouse
and cold storage is required. A harbor is present 65 KM but the same is not good enough for
smaller fishermen of Kodiyakadu.

2.8.3 Sports Facilities

No playground or park is seen in the village, Though Kodiyakadu village has big barren lands
that are unfit for any other purpose. This could be converted into sports field for Kabaddi and cricket.
Some children though were using these barren grounds for this purpose. The Panchayats can
help creating volleyball and Football facilities for salt pan workers and fishermen as there are
no other recreational activities during the lean seasons. Children are found playing cricket in
empty fields and in common area near the temple.

2.8.4 Electricity
Regular supply of electricity is maintained in the village Kodiyakadu with one or two
brief cuts which could be for maintenance. Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) maintains
the electricity distribution through its Nagapattinam circle.

2.8.5 Agriculture and Irrigation

Not many farmers are in agriculture, and even if some are involved in Tobacco
cultivation, it is because of the availability of water for irrigation with them. Most of the bores
in Kodiyakadu yield water which is having more CaCO3 and NaCl, thus make it unsuitable of
any use. Except few fields, soil is basically either sandy red (too porous) or black and clay
(nonporous), and thus can’t be used. Moreover, since the soil being saline most of the crop
produce do not come up well in these conditions and hence they restrict the cropping.

We suggest some measures here

 Groundwater Quality Mapping of village to be prepared and distributed to farmers
 Delineation and Characterization of Salt affected soils
 Reclamation of sodic vertisols in conjunction with soil and water conservation practices
under rainfed condition
 Sodic soil Reclamation Technology using gypsum
 Sodic soil Reclamation Technology using Distillery Spent Wash (DSW)
 DSW to Reclaim Alkali Water

16
Figure 9: Soil Map of Nagapattinam District
Use of Sodic tolerant Crops and varieties (Suggested by ICAR)
 The coarse grained rice variety TRY 1 and fine grained variety ADT 45
 Green gram variety Pusa Bold tolerates an ESP of 16.
 At higher ESP level of 36, pearl millet cultivar UCC 17 performed better.
 Up to an ESP of 16, the crops viz., Maize (COH M4), Sunflower (CO 4), Sesame (CO 1),
Bhendi (Parbhani Kranti), Cluster bean (Pusa Naubuhar) performed better.
 The threshold ESP for the sunflower variety CO4 and hybrid TCSH1 were 16.5 and 13.0,
respectively.
 The ESP at 50% yield reduction for sunflower variety CO4 and hybrid TCSH1 were 37 and
34, respectively
 The threshold ESP for okra varieties were 13.5, 15.5 and 16 for hybrid No10, Arkha anamika
and Parbhani kranti, respectively.
 The ESP at 50% yield reduction for okra varieties were 31, 34 and 30 for hybrid No10,
Arkha anamika and Parbhani kranti, respectively.
 Threshhold ESP for cotton was fixed at 33 for varieties and 28 for hybrids

Planting of Trees Species

 Tamarindus indica, Bambusa bamboo, Lueceana leucocephala, Acacia leaucophloea, and
Azardiracta indica are suitable for agroforestry in rainfed sodic soils.
 Evolving planting techniques with amendments for raising tree crops in sodic soils under
rainfed condition

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 Nutrient management for rice under sodic soil conditions
 Site Specific Nutrient Management (SSNM) for rice in salt affected soils of Tamil Nadu.

Integrated Farming System suitable for problem soil areas of Kodiyakadu:

Integration of fisheries with poultry, Goatry and Dairying. Explore possibility of meat
processing, fish processing industry nearby and thus Kodiyakadu will have markets available
for their produce.

In Nagapattinam district, 72.6 % water is characterized under good quality, 12.7 % is

marginally saline, 7.8 % is saline, 2.9 % is marginally alkaline, 2.9 % is alkaline, and 4 % is
high SAR saline. Most of the village’s water is unsuitable right now for farming as per the
farmers. Working with soil testing labs we need to check the water and soil health and then
accordingly need to suggest the farmers through agriculture department. Post Tsunami excess
salt deposition have degraded the nature of soil and water here. We need to work on integrated
approach to have diversified earning options for villagers of Kodiyakadu.

 Introduction of drip irrigation with gypsum treatment while roping in different government
schemes.

2.8.6 Drainage system

Since the soil is mixed sand and black clay in nature, water that some places do stagnate but
slowly drains off or absorbed by the sand. Currently drainage does not look to a big issue but
during rainy season, water does stagnate forming a breeding ground for mosquitoes. There were
no signs of drainage connection to the village. There are no sewage pipelines anywhere in
Kodiyakadu. But it is learnt that Drainage for nearest town do happen by Vedaranyam canal.

2.8.7 Drinking water facilities

Availability of Calcium and Nitrates in water in coastal areas in Nagapattinam and in
and around Vedaranyam Town is big issue. Drinking water is not available in the bores thus
water from Kollidam is diverted to the village through pipes for daily use purposes. The water
is available on an alternatively between in evening 2 hrs. The piped connection of water started
since 2012. There are n desalination plants and thus there have been sporadic incidents of water
related issues amongst the villagers. The area where the lower caste people live has less piped
water connections and but they do have a hand pump which they use since they are not
financially strong enough to afford for a bore water connection within their household. Buying
cans of drinking water at shops and in household is as common as in cities like Bengaluru. This
is an extra monetary burden on people of Kodiyakadu. Though some salt pan workers do tell
us about free water supply through tanks by Chemplast factory.

The activity of salt pan and inland fishery in nearby areas will be making matter worse
due to leaching of more salts in the ground water. Higher nitrates in ground water will lead to
renal problems and affect agriculture.

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3. VILLAGE ECONOMY AND LIVELIHOODS

Figure 10: Sources of Income

3.1 Salt Extraction
3.1.1 Introduction
Sodium chloride (NaCl), also known as salt, common salt, table salt or halite, is an ionic
compound. Salt is most widely distributed inorganic compound throughout the world. As the
India has one of the largest seashore in the world, salt manufacture sites are spread throughout
the country. Solar Evaporation is the cheapest and best method of manufacturing salt from the
brines. This method has widely been used in Salt pans near Kodiyakadu.

During the 1930s British government levied heavy tax on salt production in India.
Mahatma Gandhi started the salt sathyagraha movement against the British government. This
salt sathyagraha ignited the national struggle for India’s freedom. In Tamil Nadu Dr.
Rajagopalachari led the salt yatra and Sardar Vedarathinam Pillai from Vedaranyam block in
which Kodiyakadu village exists, took part in the yatra. Hence, Vedaranyam finds a place in
the history of freedom struggle.

Total 10,500 acres of saltpan area is there in and around Kodiyakadu. Out of which
7,000 acres of state government lands are with two major private salt factory units. One is
SANMAR/Chemplast with 3,500 acres and the other is Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd with
3,500 acres of saltpans. The remaining 3,000 acres of Central Government land is leased to 750
units, who are marginal, medium, large producers and Cooperative Society producers. In
addition to these, another 350 acres of state government land is used by two other private units.
This saltpan is spread over a stretch of 12 kilometres in a contiguous manner. There are 29
villages engaged in salt production. There are sub-lease holders who un-officially lease the
land from the official lease holders of the government. These sub-lease holders pay Rs. 5,000
per acre of salt pan as lease amount to the official lease-holders.

19
 The people of Kodiyakadu village work as salt pan workers and therefore this is one of
the major source of revenue generation. This gives people a stable job opportunity. The salt
season typically runs for a period of 8 months except the monsoon season, though due to Gaja
cyclone the factory met heavy loses and work stopped for 3 months. The people of Kodiyakadu
had to sit at home, during the period they were given Rs. 500 as financial assistance from
chemplast.

Saline water from sea (3-3.5°Be) is first conveyed to a reservoir through channels to store
brine and to remove suspended impurities and to concentrate the brine to about 10°Be by solar
energy. The reservoir is usually kept at a certain height, where brine flows under gravity. This
10°Be brine is again concentrated to 25° Be brine by solar evaporation by passing it to
condensers through the channels. Due to evaporation of water from brine the solution gradually
concentrates and different impurities separate out at different concentration as follows:
 At 7.5°Be ferrous iron present separates out as ferric oxide
 At 10°Be, calcium carbonate precipitates out
 At 12-25°Be, calcium sulfate precipitated out
At the 250Be brine from the condensers is now passed on to the crystallizes, where salt
crystallizes from 25.4°Be to 30°Be and other impurities also start separating. Salt form the
solar evaporation method may be purified by dissolving it in purified brine or water then
crystallize in grainer which is open pan having 15-20ft width, 150-200ft length and 2ft depth.
Then it is scrapped by the worker. It is estimated that around one tonnes of salt can be produced
from 1 acre of land in a period of 2 days. The land ownership is under the Government of India.
These lands are leased out and Rs. 160/ year is the lease amount that is paid to the Salt office
located near the village. Sometimes many big shots within the village who have large sums of
cash lease large plots of land from the salt office and they sub lease to small players for a higher
money thus making revenue out of it.

3.1.2 Salt Collection, Packing and Transportation

Collecting salt form the pans and transporting it to loading centres is a labour intensive
process. Both male and female labourers are involved in this process. Mechanization has
happened only in loading and transportation of salt. Labourers have to do all the works in open
sunlight.

Salt collected from the pans is pulled to the collection table near the pans and then
transported by head loads to the stocking points. It is the task of the producer to bring salt to
the stocking points. From the stocking points, salt is bagged in either 50 kg or 100 kg bags and
then loaded in load vehicles and taken by the traders. It is the traders’ task to look after loading
of salt and transporting it to other places.

20
 The quantum of salt extracted is around 4-4.5 lakh tonnes/season and the pricing for
the salt is done by the federation members looking at the produce that is available from other
markets such as Gujarat, Tuticorin etc.., and the demand for this salt. The workforce for these
is from the same village. The main markets of the salt happen to be in Karnataka, Kerala and
few parts of Tamil Nadu. Usually the working hour is between 3 am to 11 am in the morning
and 3 pm to 6 pm in the evening. Most of men salt pan workers earn between Rs. 250-350 per
day while ladies Rs. 200-300. In a month salt worker gets job for maximum 25 days and on an
average men can earn Rs. 6500-7000 and women Rs. 5500-6000. On an average a family of
salt pan workers get Rs. 11000 to 12000.

21
Figure 11: Flow chart for chemical salt extraction (non-edible) from CHEMPLAST

Figure 12: Picture of Salt pans

22
Figure 13: A Couple (Husband and Wife) scrapping salt pan

Figure 14: Salt packing with hands

The salt packing process is automated in case of Chemplast while the manual packaging
is more evident in case of individuals and collectives.

3.1.3 Challenges Faced

Few of the challenges faced by this segment are as follows:
 Salt department has data for the area registered with the SCO. Since the industry has been
de-licensed from the year 1996, there are quite number salt producers who have not
registered themselves and are unaccounted for in government data.

23
 The salt workers, though classified under industrial workers, are yet to form any association
on their job lines. Their trade union affiliation is to various political parties. Given this
calculation of number of workers in this filed is difficult.
 With the expansion of area under salt by large producers, the lands adjacent to new saltpans
become saline and hence are forced to convert the saline agricultural land as saltpans and
hence there is increase in the area under salt. However, these areas don’t get accounted
immediately in any government records.
 Government’s caustic soda plant which was promised to be setup as is still missing which
leads to unemployment in the off season. A warehouse was been constructed has seen the
brunt of Gaja and the work to complete is yet to start.
 They look for alternative arrangements like fishing, working on tobacco farms during off
season to get rid of debts.
 Better access to living conditions like water and access to toilets at workplace are other
things that make the challenges faced by this sector of the population. Gaja has made their
life struggles more challenging.

3.2 Fisheries
Fishing is the traditional occupation for fishermen community. Fishing and allied
activities constitute an industry and have created employment for people having different skills
in different fields of fisheries. It provides direct and indirect employment opportunities.
Fisheries sector has to be given high priority since it has the potential of employment and
income generation. The marine fish and its products have very good potential for earning
considerable amount of foreign exchange. Fish is an important source of food next to
agriculture and animal husbandry. To supplement the food shortage arising out of agriculture
and animal husbandry, fish play an important role in the dietary needs of people. It has 60 per
cent of protein, rich vitamins, fat, calcium, phosphorous and other nutrients.

Kodiyakadu has 30 percent its population going for fishing, first the Tsunami and then
the Gaja cyclone has affected the economics of the fishermen here. Many lost their boats during
both the calamities. Yet the fishing still is one of the main support for the fishermen of
Kodiyakadu. One boat employs at least 10 people who can earn Rs. 500-600 a day while the
owner of boat may earn Rs.1000-1500 a day. The Vedaranyam harbour by government is a
promise not yet fulfilled and looking at 40 boats on Kodiyakarai the nearby beach each boat
on an average catches fish of Rs.15000. The fishermen require a cold storage that helps them
negotiate the price with prospective buyers and fetch right amount for their catch.

3.3 Shocks
3.3.1 Natural Disasters
All the families in Kodiyakadu were affected by Tsunami in 2004 and the Gaja cyclone
in 2018. Some relief material both in cash and kind was given by government but the
destruction due to both is so huge that many families are yet to come out of the tyranny. The
Gaja did not spare even the government buildings and many of them are vacant till date. Some
villagers of Kodiyakadu dis receive some grants to build houses, but many couldn’t get it

24
because they do not own a land and live on a leased or temple land. The pace of stabilizing the
affected people is so slow that many have thatched palm huts can be seen with black polythene
sheets on the top. Many NGO’s had come to various parts of Nagapattinam district, have
supported them in getting them relief material, food, jobs under MGNREGA or as salt pan
worker, providing evening refresher classes for children but proper shelter is yet to be in place.
Many who have not seen such a destruction have witnessed two of natures’ fury, elderlies recall
that these were the largest destruction that they ever witnessed in her life time. Loss of life,
assets and pressure of rebuilding it again along with fear of repetition of such calamities has
made them realize the changing weather. The fishermen say sea doesn’t look safer to them
anymore. Everyone is caught in the web of debt from money lenders @ 3 percent a month
again and coming out of it is looks near to impossible. It looks government do need to put in
more efforts to rebuild their homes.

Land has become non usable, water could not be used even for washing clothes, thus
more salt pan are coming up. Thus, it is making agricultural land more infertile and barren.
There is need of agriculture department to work with the farmers more closely to diversify the
earnings of the people of Kodiyakadu. Diversification will help them fight the odds.

Figure 15: Destroyed office and homes after Gaja Cyclone

25
3.4 Other Jobs
Salt pan or Fisheries do not give them enough income and have off-seasons. Less
savings with families in Kodiyakadu, compel them to look for odd jobs during off-season.
Families struggle to maintain minimum living and thus join 100 days MGNREGA related
work. As media and technology is coming fast to them the families want a change in next
generation. For work people are moving out to gulf or have bought autos and work as drivers,
but odd jobs during off- season does not provide them a stable source of income. It only acts as
a temporary measure to earn money and is not a shield during the lean season.

3.5 Business
There are shop owners, butchers, small tea/snacks shops and even roadside restaurants.
But the total percentage of such people is village is roughly around 2%.

3.6 Consumption
People of Kodiyakadu had never faced crisis for food except few days during Tsunami
and Gaja crisis. PDS scheme runs well, and the quality of rice supplied seems to be satisfactory.
People are poor but try to generally be clean. In smaller ways the brands have entered every
house in one or the other ways, which is evident from the products available at shops. From
coke to fish, rice and spicy mutton, harpics and lizol, cupcakes and breads Kodiyakadu village
have capacity to consume all. Poor people are not able to maintain what they wear, their
children may look a bit untidy, but market consumption has left no one untouched.

3.7 Markets
Kodiyakadu have a small market within the village. Being situated at the main road and
near temple the market is accessible to all. This market has a retail store, internet café with
printing and Xerox facility. This place is where youth and men meet in the mornings and
evenings and discuss politics and other happenings. There is small fish market which is
functional and sells fish for locals. However, the town markets at Vedaranyam serve the
residents in case of purchasing major groceries or any other home needs. Vedaranyam town
serves as destination for buying new clothes during festivals, buy comestibles, electronics and
other essentials.

3.8 Labourers
3.8.1 Wage Labourers
Salt pan workers of Kodiyakadu work as Daily wage labourers in salt pan, MGNREGA
and also in tobacco fields. Laborers from outside are not seen, though few of them may be seen
in nearby village of Kodiyakarai who come as workers on fishing boats.

3.8.2 Child Labourers

Our observations and as informed by villagers and village representatives of BEDROC,
there seems to be no issue of child labour, however the children were quick to become drivers
and were ready to start earning post their intermediate school since they understood that their
family wanted money to survive.

26
3.9 Assets Available in Village

•Kodiyakadu Forest and sanctuary animals

•Salt pans
Natural •Palm trees, Mango and Acacia
•Soil and climate fit for salt extraction

•Shelter: Thatched Palm leaves and concrete houses

•Water: Hand pumps, wells, water tanks, piped, water cans and bore wells
•Transport: Pucca roads, sand gravel, buses
Physical •Govt. Institutions:Post office, School, Anganwadi
•Tele-communication: TV, Cell phone

•Average Family size: 4

•Earning members: 2
•Education status: Till X std
Human •Literacy rate: 78%
•Health status: People are quite healthy and have high
stamina, some do suffer from ailments

•Peaceful and uniform

•Caste based settings are strong
Social •Gods are revered, people pray in temples and festivals are
celebrated with harmony

•Major Source of income – Salt pans and fishing

Financial •Expenditure Practices – Loans from Money lenders or community groups
•Face problems in off season

Figure 16: Assets of Village

4. VILLAGE POLITY
4.1 Village Meetings
Villagers of Kodiyakadu assemble on important occasions eg. Discussions regarding
temple festivals and procession, small violence or caste related matters. These meets are
restricted to once in 4 months. There is Panchayat office which occasionally calls gram sabha
meetings near temple community hall. Each and every one is welcome to the meeting, though
people prefer to sit with their community and decisions slightly favour BC and MBC
community people.

27
Gram Panchayat: There is one gram panchayat office of Kodiyakadu Village. It is occupied
by a clerk K. Aarivanandham and it has a sweeper for the village Mr. M. Krishnan. Currently
the gram panchayat do not have elected representatives. The elections for gram panchayat are
due for last two years. The tenure of president has expired in 2017. Under sections 110 & 111
of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994 prescribe the duties and functions of Village
Panchayats. Some of the important functions of a Village Panchayat are:
a) Construction, repair and maintenance of all village roads.
b) Extension of village sites and the regulation of buildings.
c) Lighting of public roads and public places in built-up areas.
d) Construction of drains.
e) Cleaning of streets and improvement of the sanitary condition of the village.
f) Construction and maintenance of public latrines.
g) Sinking and repairing of wells, the excavation, repair and maintenance of ponds or tanks
and the construction and maintenance of water-works for the supply of water.
h) Maintenance of burial and burning grounds.
i) Maintenance of parks and reading rooms,
j) Implementation of schemes such as Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) and National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).
k) Such other duties as the Government may by notification impose. Overlook government
grants disbursements and use.
The Village Panchayat President himself has been designated as the Executive
Authority. Cheques for payment have to be signed jointly by the President and Vice-President.
Where the relationship between the two is not cordial, the Collector, in his capacity as Inspector
of Panchayats, can designate any other member of the Village Panchayat as joint cheque
signing authority along with the President.
The Government have brought out Tamil Nadu Panchayats (Preparation of Plan and
Estimates for works and Mode and Conditions of works) Rules, 2007 vide G.O.Ms.No.203
R.D. & P.R. (PR.1) Department, dated 20.12.2007, wherein the Village Panchayats have been
empowered to give administrative sanction and execute individual works up to Rs.2 lakhs from
their General Funds. Previously the Village Panchayats were empowered to give administrative
sanction for works up to Rs.1 lakh only. For all works costing more than Rs.2 lakhs but not
more than Rs.50 lakhs, the District Collector is the competent authority to give the
administrative sanction and for works costing more than Rs.50 lakhs, the Director of Rural
Development and Panchayat Raj will be competent to accord administrative sanction.
However, the Collector’s prior administrative sanction is necessary in respect of all centrally
sponsored and State funded schemes. Village Panchayats have also been given freedom to
execute urgent works up to Rs. 2,000 at a time and up to Rs. 5,000 for a year without any
technical approval. The President can draw self-cheque up to Rs. 500 to meet contingent
expenditures.

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 The Village Panchayats have been given necessary delegation of powers to enable them
to attend to repairs and maintenance of hand pumps, power pumps and street lights promptly.
They can spend Rs.600 per hand pump per year and up to Rs.7,500 per power pump per year
without reference to engineers for preparation of estimates or passing of bills. They can buy
street light materials meeting the prescribed quality norms on their own.

Table 7: Ex- Elected Representatives of Kodiyakadu

Position (M/F) Name

Ex-Panchayat Male J. Bhavani

President Shanmugham
Ex-Panchayat Male M. Kumaresan
Vice-President
Ward Members All Male 1.P. Pethaperumal
2. P. Veeranmal
3. V. Subhramaniyan
4. K. Tagabarachiya
5. M. Kumar
6. T. Veerpan
7. K. Kandhan

Table 8: Important Timeline of Kodiyakadu

1932 First School came in Village

1945 Railways
1952 Chemplast Sanmar salt extraction company started in vicinity
1954 Commercialization of salt
1954 Bus services started
1955 First Panchayat office was established
1958 First Telephone
1960 First Hand Pump
1961 First Bus stand constructed
1962 First Pucca house constructed
1965 First Electricity connection
1972 First PDS centre
1980 First Motorbike
1985 First TV
1998 Primary health centre was constructed
2004 Severely affected by Tsunami
2005 Houses constructed for Tsunami affected people
2012 Water pipeline for every 5 houses was laid
2018 Gaja Cyclone hit the Village
* Source: Senior Citizen of Village Kodiyakadu

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4.2 Government Schemes and services
4.2.1 Distribution of freebies (Fans, Mixer, Grinder)
Electrical Fans/Induction Stoves, Mixies and Grinders was distributed to the women
beneficiaries in one single package at a time. The above distribution is being made depend
upon the assembly constituency. Revenue village first and then Town Panchayat,
Municipality and Corporation depends upon the population of the people in an ascending order.
In hilly areas, like the Nilgiris District, Kodaikanal in Dindigul District in lieu of Fan, Induction
Stove was distributed. "Distribution of priceless Sarees/Dhoties." As the weaving is next to
agriculture, give benefits for the poor weaving people and also to give the permanent work for
their improvement in life and the Scheme was introduced. Over the past decade, successive
governments in the State have these kind of freebie schemes of distributing colour television
sets, laptops and household appliances. Almost all the villagers had benefitted through this
scheme. Scheme is one of the main reasons for each household owning a TV, Mixer, Fan and
a Grinder.

4.2.2 ICDS
Through this scheme, the municipality had set up dedicated Anganwadis in 3 places to
cater to child’s pre-school education.

4.2.3 ASHA worker

Vedanayaki, or ASHA workers are educated till 8th standard. She is responsible for:
 Polio and BCG vaccinations
 Providing consultation for pregnant women
 Guidance regarding family planning.
 Monthly educational sessions and distribution of sanitary napkins for adolescent girls
 Provision of ghee, eggs, Rs.1400 etc. as suggested under the scheme of delivery of child in
government hospital.
 Provision of Rs.1100 for sterilization of males, Rs.600 of females.

4.2.4 Mid-Day Meal Scheme

There is provision of mid-day meal is there in the government school having11
students. It is cook gets Rs.8000 monthly. Meals served are nutritious and are according to a
pre-planned menu which is continuously updated. One egg is also provided every alternate
days.

4.2.5 NRHM
The National Rural Health Mission is very active in the village with a mobile team
covering all the 11 hamlets throughout the year. Various free of cost services are also provided
like:
 Pregnant women: TT injection, iron folic acid tablet distribution, assistance in delivery and
other tests. After delivery services are also provided.
 Immunisation of new born
 Catering to micro nutrient deficiency.

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 Special treatment for diarrhoea and communicable diseases.
 Family-planning.
 Chlorination of water.
A doctor along with 3 nurses is responsible for going to schools in each village and
organising check-up camps on quarterly basis. Cold chins are well maintained for vaccine
storage. Medicines are given free of cost. 108 facility is available for the patients. Anti-venom
injections are also available at the clinic.

4.2.6 PDS
Public Distribution System has an important role in the survival.2 PDS shops cater to
1170 ration cards in the village Kodiyakadu. The PDS provides food security to the BPL and
APL households. Following items are distributed to villagers at subsidized rates:
 Rice (free up to 25 Kgs)
 Wheat (5 Kgs) @ Rs 10
 Palm Oil (1 litre) for @ Rs 45
 Pulses (2 Kgs) @ Rs 40
 Sugar (1Kgs) @ Rs 10
 Kerosene (3 litre) @ Rs 30

5. VILLAGE INSTITUTIONS
5.1 Formal Institutions
5.1.1 Government School
There is 1 schools located within the village and 1 middle and 1 higher secondary is
located at a distance of 1 km away in Kodiyakarai village. Students from all the communities are
sent here and as observed there were no casteism that was practiced in school. All the schools
had their own toilets for boys and girls separately.

Table 9: Primary School Statistics (I to V Class)

Primary School children details

MBC SC OBC
S. No Class
Male Female Male Female Male Female
1 1 15 15 - - - -
2 2 10 11 0 1 - -
3 3-A 8 5 1 2 - -
4 3-B 7 5 1 1 1 -
5 4 13 10 - 1 1 -
6 5 10 12 - 1 - -

Education system
These are Tamil medium schools; where Math, Science, Tamil and English are taught.
The problem lies in the fact the government has proposed No retention policy under which
students can’t be failed which drastically reduces the quality of education and service that is

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offered. Indirectly this practice kind of demotivated the teacher to teach and be less- innovative
which again hampers with the future of the children pursuing education here in these schools.

Other Activities
Half yearly distribution of iron, folic acid tablets, monthly sanitation drives, yoga
practice twice a week is done. Apart from these competitions and health campaigns are also
organized through which the villagers are also benefitted. Recently the students also took part
in inter village competitions for poem recitation, extempore, kabaddi etc. Corporal punishment
is highly discouraged.

Infrastructure
Every school had toilets though not well maintained because of lack of water. The class
rooms varied based on the size of the school, the classroom benches were missing and students
were sitting on floor. There was no infrastructure for sports or other recreational activities.

Issues
• Sanitation: Children often do not take bath and wash their clothes which create discomfort
for the others around. The toilets are maintained properly which can give rise to hygiene
related issues.
• Inadequate staff: Only 3 teachers for 130 students. Due to the location, hardly any teachers
agree to join the school.
• Disinterested Students: Beyond a certain point, students find that they are not as talented as
their counterparts from private schools and in vain they give up education. Another serious
issue as discussed in earlier section, students opt out of formal education system to start
earning money. As a result, schools have become a non-conducive environment for
studying.

5.2 Banks and micro-credit facilities

Banks are only present in near town in Vedaranyam. Even ATMs ae not available in
the village.
• Interest rates on loans from local moneylenders ranged from 3-6 % per month.
• Muthoot gold loan was for 12 % p.a for women and 18% p.a for men with gold as collateral
(90% value of gold) in Vedaranyam.
• Some other lenders like Equitas and Muthoot Fincorp charged from 12-24 percent per
annum depending on nature of loans.

5.3 PHC (Primary Health Care Centre)

For Kodiyakadu and Kodiyakarai there exists a three bed PHC (Primary Health Care
Centre) and a medical store. It has three sub centres and on a daily basis doctor prescribe
medicines to at least 100 patients. This was a dispensary since 1958, in 1998 the PHC was set
up and new building came up in 2003. It provides first aid, immunisation and normal delivery
is handled here. 100% deliveries are institutional. It does not support caesarean and other kind
of delivery related issues. The staff members include a doctor, 2 auxiliary midwife, a ward boy,
a pharmacist and 3 nurses. The medicines supplied are generic in nature.

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Figure 17: Primary Health Centre

Table 10: Different Health Schemes

S. No Name of Scheme Eligibility

1 Janani Suraksha Yojana
2 Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram
3 Incentive amount paid to the
Women for family planning
operation (Rs.600/-)
4 Incentive amount paid to the Men
for family planning operation
(Rs.1100/-)
5 Chief Minister’s Comprehensive
Health Insurance Scheme
(CMCHIS)
6 Amma baby Care Kit
7 Dr.Muthulakshmi Reddy
Maternity Benefit Scheme
8 Girl child protection scheme
Delivery Women patients In Government
Hospital (below poverty line)
Pregnant Women and Delivered
Mothers in Government facilities
Family Planning Acceptors
Family Planning Acceptors
Insurance card holders
All delivered babies in Government Health
facilities
Pregnancy of 1st and 2nd babies only
Family planning done with 1 Girl Child

5.4 Anganwadis Centre

The Anganwadis worker caters to pregnant women, young mothers and small kids.
Since most of the women go to work during the salt season, they do not prefer to avail these
services extended to them. The anganwadis here behave more like day care centres where
young children are left in the morning and they are taken back home in the afternoon. There
are 2 such anganwadis in the village.

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Anganwadis worker also performs a range of activities which include:
• Making voter ID
• Implementing the Take Home Scheme/ Bal Vikas Pariyojana
• Educating the villagers regarding immunisation. Every 3rd Saturday a nurse visits the
village to immunize children as well.
• Adolescent girls are taken to Health Centre where counselling and guidance is provided
regarding menstrual health.

6. THEMATIC INSIGHT
6.1 FPCR: Social Norms and Woman Workforce Participation
By: Amit Kumar & Pankaj Singh (Group 4)

Observation:
The major profession of people of Kodiyakadu is fishing, work in Saltpan, Agriculture
and being entrepreneurs like having shops or restaurants. Families earn approximately 10,000-
12000 a month. In this village, BC and MBC are living in a better condition than SC people.
BC and MBC are a bit dominant because of numbers and have better access to the resources.
People ghettoize according to their caste, thus hamlets are formed according to the caste. Men
and women both mostly go for work while women also look after the house work but do not
go for fishing. Women mostly work either at home or as saltpan worker. MGNREGA is
implemented in village and most people we could meet were provided 100 day’s work, helping
them cope their lean periods. Women though are allowed to move out of their home freely, but
certain unwritten rules or norms have to be followed. Apart from working outside she is
supposed to look after household chores, children and domestic animals. Drinking water is a
major problem but we hardly saw any man standing at taps to collect water. It is supposed to
be women’s job. She can freely interact to nearby houses and also can go to friends and relatives
house alone, but late evening/night movements are not welcome. We saw Hindu women
wearing saree and Muslim women covered in a special white gown while coming out of their
houses. Married Hindu women display Mangalsutra and Bindi. It was easier for us to approach
a Hindu family and talk to the women members and click photographs but we found it difficult
in case of Muslim Families. Moreover, it was observed that social norms did not allow ladies
from both the communities to sit on the chair along with male counterparts or guests and
interact. When posed questions regarding the same they told that sitting in front of elderly or
guests is not seen as good behaviour. Elders and community both do not approve of the same.
However, in nuclear families the women did sat along with us and interacted much freely.

Perception of families on Social norms and women workforce participation

It was observed that as such families have some initial apprehensions about woman
going out for work but the family financial need is driving them to allow women go out to
work. This has started happening in most of the families now that women members are
working, barring few households, therefore the participation of woman is more. Families do
support woman going to work, but it is observed that the movement for women is not as free
as for the male members. Women do feel shy interacting first with a stranger and informed us
that she have to follow certain norms like not sitting in front of strangers, elderly people, same
feeling echoed and supported by families. Cooking and looking after upkeep of house is still

34
responsibility of women, but for new generation there are some changes in attitude and the
male members allow the woman of household a greater freedom and themself become
participatory inside house. There is no upper caste population in the village thus their
perceptions could not be recorded. Muslim families have restrictions on women going to work
outside. Within the families selected for the study, out of four families, three families were
supportive and open to woman joining workforce and happy for their decision. They were
giving greater respect to women views and have accepted that woman in workforce is required
for every family.

Conclusion
While moving in Kodiyakadu, and understanding women existing participation in
labour force and how social norms are affecting her, only provides a partial picture in terms of
the gap that needs to be bridged to help women enter the workforce. Though, resources
available related to constraints and socio-cultural barriers due existing social norms needs to
be addressed if women are to be successfully connected to the kind of employment
opportunities they desire. Women do face social norms on a daily basis at her home, society,
and workplace and fights it daily. She looks to face all odds and comes out of the house to work
to support the family physically, mentally and financially. Yet given lesser importance in the
society, this may be because of the patriarchal mindset of the society. Our study do tells that,
if family, society, laws and policies are made to help women then positive social norms can
easily be generated. It tells us the support of immediate family member is must for lady to fight
negative social norms that discriminate on basis of gender. It also tells that women can be a
good worker earns equally to her male counterparts and also be a good wife and mother. Our
study tells that the financial needs can bring a lady in workforce but later she can change it into
opportunity and become a model for others. As the village has more OBC, and most of them
belonging to lesser earning groups thus the constraint for women to participate as workforce
were less. It can be said if we could provide better education, fulfil the women knowledge
needs, hone current skills though quality training, generate right opportunities for women
through policies and improve upon the threat to their safety and security will further add to
woman workforce.

6.2 RAC (Rural Action Component)

Task Assigned
 Understand and assess the socio-economic and working conditions of the salt pan workers;
 Identify potential interventions to improve their socio-economic conditions, strengthen
existing livelihoods and improve their working conditions, efficiency and quality of work.

The Background
In the entire salt value chain in Kodiyakadu, the study identified the profile of people
who are highly marginalized and vulnerable – the salt pan worker. The working definition
used for identifying this group in the salt value chain are as follows:

Salt Worker, a person who:

i. is engaged directly and physically in the salt value chain, mainly in the operations relating
to salt production, packaging, storage and transportation

35
 ii. is engaged for the most part of the year in this work
iii. derives major part of his/ her annual income from the value chain
iv. is either adult male or female

Problems faced while working as a salt-pan worker

Adverse working conditions
The work is physically draining, with workers typically starting work in the wee hours
of the day prior to sunrise and work till noon when the heat becomes unbearable.

Financial insecurity

Lack of job security and seasonal nature of work affecting the workers’ lives
Many of the workers felt that their lives were miserable due to the poor wages they
receive which was not commensurate with the efforts put in. “We are employed as daily wage
workers by the contractor who takes the salt pans on lease. We get paid only if we come for
work. There is no work during the rainy season and as it is, we don’t have savings, so we are
forced to borrow money to survive. It is very difficult.” The workers are employed as casual
labourers only and thus, lack of job security is stressful for them and this fact was highlighted
by many. Also, salt panning is stopped during the rainy seasons, during which time the workers
find themselves in financial crisis and are forced to take debts.

Poor financial returns from the work

They work every day in such difficult conditions, but the wages are insufficient- “we
can eat only if we work every day, there is not enough for savings. It is very difficult to manage
when we fall ill and are not able to work.” The women workers are paid around Rs.250 and
men are paid around Rs.300 for the same duration depending on the yield of the salt. The
workers expressed dissatisfaction at these wages and felt that they were underpaid for the
amount of work extracted.

Apart from these vulnerabilities, the industry is also highly disaster-prone, as these are
located along the coastal areas. It experiences frequent threats of cyclones and high tidal
waves, and the recent one being tsunami and Gaja cyclone. The disaster preparedness measures
are not in place. Even when the tsunami rehab measures were taken, reportedly large quantum
these benefits were availed by lease holders and large producers and very little/ no benefits
reached the workers. Most workers reportedly were without the work for almost 6-8 months
and after Gaja cyclone 2-3 months with no work.

Livelihood options
Looking at the above situation in salt pan we should look into the livelihood options for
the saltpan workers of Kodiyakadu village. Some of the suggestions are given below

 Form self-help group and build the capacity of the women on procurement and packaging
of kitchen salt. Create a brand and make them available at bigger cities like Chennai and
Bengaluru.
 The families of salt pan workers affected by Gaja were provided with four goats each. We
need to bring them 25 such families together to form self- help groups and convince them

36
 for goat farming. A formal training for the members of self-help group could be arranged
with government veterinary doctors/university. In this way they will understand the
importance of feeding, deworming and vaccination in goat farming. Currently the goats
which have been distributed are not kept as per scientific farming practices. Seed money
could be arranged through banks for building a goat pen and arrangement of dry and
concentrate feeds. A model should be created in a way that it is linked to the market and
regular sale of goats to Trichy and Chennai be arranged.

 Reviving agriculture
Pot Gardening and organic vegetable farming: Each house should be trained in maintaining 50
pot gardens. A 50-container vegetable garden can be attended to easily as a part-time activity.
Plastic bags, tin cans, clay pots or indigenous materials, like bamboo, discarded wooden boat
and coconut husk, may serve as growing pots.

In the wet season the population should be trained to store rain water in tanks which
can be first use for kitchen and then irrigating these pots. This is about the growing period of
most seasonal vegetable varieties, like beans, squash, tomatoes, eggplants, spinach, etc. Extra
water containers from rainwater can be provided for the 50 vegetable pots.

A community-type vegetable nursery can be taken up as project. The local village

youths can be trained as agriculture technicians can also provide the necessary training and
information for various vegetable varieties. With 50 vegetable pots or containers, an agriculture
technicians can raise at least five kinds of vegetables of 10 plants each.

Other measures to improve agriculture

 Intervention to reduce the salt content of agriculture land;
o Sodic soil Reclamation Technology using gypsum
o Sodic soil Reclamation Technology using Distillery Spent Wash

 Facilitating the supply of good quality saplings of horticulture and tree crops to farmers
and livestock holders;
 Establishing a Sapling Bank of Tree Crops – which should contain all types of tree
crops
 Providing solar pump/drip irrigation/sprinklers for irrigating vegetable crops. This will
help increase the area under vegetable cultivation and also help in conserving water.
Water conservation/harvesting technique is an important aspect in reviving agriculture in
this cyclone affected sandy soil;
 Developing a fodder bank for livestock using common land or grazing land
 Continuous advisories from agricultural experts.

Look into future prospects of cultivating seaweed in Palk Strait: As many families of salt
pan are also involved in fishing. The Seaweeds are macrophytic algae, a primitive type of
plants lacking true roots, stems and leaves. Economic importance Some 221 species of
seaweed are utilized commercially. Of these, about 145 species are used for food and 110
species for phycocolloid production. Central Salt Marine Chemical Research Institute and
Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute have developed culture techniques for some of

37
 the commercially important seaweed species in India. As a result of this effort, a lot of Self
Help Groups, Village Youth Groups and NGOs have come forward to promote seaweed
cultivation as an alternate livelihood option for the coastal poor.

 Make thrift women self-help groups and train them in saving and lending of money.

 Poultry production with local breeds, rope in government schemes for the same.

 This area is full of natural resources and hardworking individuals, we need to preserve the
coastal lines of the area as well as give alternate options for livelihood by which the greenery
around the Kodiyakadu village and natural habitats are not disturbed. We need development
here without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs. A
livelihood is sustainable when it can cope up and recover from stress or shocks, maintain and
Enhance the capabilities without undermining natural resources. Thus diversification in the
livelihood of saltpan workers will create resilience to shock from Tsunami or Gaja.

7. CONCLUSION
Kodiyakadu village is a coastal village which therefore because of its geography has
its own constraints. A nearby sea and protected sanctuary makes it environmentally sensitive.
For people of this village, climate isn’t that conducive either, its’ hot and humid almost all the
time, neither the hydrology and geology on the side of the people living around, the shocks of
Tsunami and Gaja are still afresh, thus life isn’t easy. Potable water for household and
agriculture is problem. The land is either sodic, sandy or clay. Hence very few agri fields are
seen in the village with Tobacco or sesame. But the resilience of the people to overcome the
problems, make them tough and they thus fight daily and surviving well. The fishing and
working as saltpan workers are the major employment generating sectors. Each household thus
earns about minimum of 6500-7500 and maximum of 12000-15000 a month. Life revolves
around these two sectors, but recent Gaja cyclone has destroyed their thatched house. Some
have received the government help of 1.7 lakhs to rebuild their house but some haven’t (as they
do not own a piece of land). Children do study and are getting a good support from the
government schemes. Panchayat elections are due for last two years, but the panchayat office
is working with a secretary. Dustbins are found on different corners of village but more needs
to be done on cleanliness. Ponds and wells are not very well maintained and neither the
drainage.
This village is dominated by backward community, Muslims, Cristian and Schedule
caste people constitute a small portion. Therefore the first benefit reaches the people from
backward class. Muslims and Christian do well on their own, but SC community which has
few people working, receive the resources only in last. Their community hall is in shambles,
the houses are only thatched, the road leading to their hamlet is sand and gravel, recently
prepare only before announcement of Lok Sabha elections. These people are less educated and
early marriages, early child birth, malnutrition of kids can be seen. People are too much
dependent on PDS and freebies. Though even after disparity and one population left out with
some grudges, still communal harmony is in place.

38
 The village has some shops, the fish market is closed, but few boats in the sea do bring
the money to village daily. This is not enough thus people during lean fish and salt pan work
season have to borrow on interest from lenders and thus their economy runs on debt. None are
spared from the debt web. People complain about low wages in salt pan. People do not have
diversified income source and thus when asked if the salt factory gets closed if the factory
owner decides to use vacuum technology, their reply was frightening. They immediately need
a sound fish cooperative society which works for farmers and not as one of the government
department. Goat farming, poultry, sea algae, fish cold storages and pot vegetable growing can
make their life little better. Government needs to look into how their produce which if the
farmers diversify be linked to market and they are able to earn more. Future looks a little
worrying as youth is going to service sector abroad and many houses have only old people are
left behind. Youth do not want to continue with the old methods of survival. Therefore new
skills need to be developed. NGOs need to work more closely with Agriculture and Animal
husbandry departments, to revive the agri and animal husbandry potential of village
Kodiyakadu. The technology is reaching everyone fast and thus is the information; we need to
utilize this for sustainability of the life here in Kodiyakadu. Though diploma in mechanical or
electrical engineering are required but we also need agri and fish technology graduates who
come back to village and work for the welfare of the society and their village. We hope that
changes will be positive and thus village Kodiyakadu will sustain, survive and grow in future.

Figure 18: Types of Houses

39
Figure 19: Social/ Resource Map of Kodiyakadu

Figure 20: Interaction with government primary school students

40
Figure 21: Interaction with MGNREGA Secretary

Figure 22: Historical Monument Ramar Paatham

Figure 23: Salt Pan Area

41
References:
https://www.aicrp.icar.gov.in/sasusw/achievements/research-highlights/tiruchirapalli
(Accessed on 12 April, 2019)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/salt
(Accessed on 11 April, 2019)

http://www.onefivenine.com/india/villages/Nagapattinam/Vedaranyam/Kodiyakkadu
(Accessed on 12 April, 2019)

http://www.tn.gov.in/scheme
(Accessed on 10 April, 2019)

Ministry of Water Resources (2008), Technical Report, District Groundwater Brochure,

Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu
State Planning Commission (2017), District Human Development Report 2017, Nagapattinam
District, Tamil Nadu

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