Chekadi Wayanad, An agricultural village in Wayanad | Wayanad Tourist Places Ep. 6/7

This is the 6th episode of Wayanad Ride and the episode highlights the village life of Chekadi in Wayanad. Chekadi is a traditional agricultural village in Kerala-Karnataka Border.

Chekadi is an ancient village in Wayanad. Chekadi has been inhabited since about 600 years ago. Before Pulpally became a human settlement, Chekadi was the main village in this area. The inhabitants of Chekadi are the nomadic Chetti community found only in the Pulpally panchayats and the Adivasis like Adiya, Paniya, Kattunaykka and Urali. This green village is inhabited by 80% of the Adivasis and is home to the culture of the Chettiars, an ancient settler from Karnataka.

The villagers of Chekadi love and adore the soil and the forest. Paddy cultivation is the main source of livelihood for the locals. Three hundred years ago, this was a soil where hundreds of old varieties of paddy such as Jeerakashala, Palthondi, Thavala kannan, Chomala, Mullan channa, peliyan, sanbatha and gandhakasala were grown. Over time, all of these species disappeared. Today, the villagers are trying to recapture the sorghum paddy.

Chekadi village is a combination of many small colonies. Tonikkadavu Colony is located immediately after crossing the bridge. If you go straight ahead here you will come to a small junction. From there turn left onto Pulpally. If you go to the right, you will reach the Pannikkal in Chekadi.

Chekadi is a village surrounded by forest on three sides and Kabani on one side. It is also a hotspot for wildlife. This is the first trench dug in Kerala to reduce wildlife encroachment. Although electric fences and ditches have been constructed many times around the village, there is still no shortage of animal harassment in the village. From the time of planting the paddy till the end of the harvest, the farmers guard these fields till dawn. There are many interesting places like this on the banks of the river. In the past, there was no need for so many guards here. But as the forest dwindled, wild animals began to come to these fields in search of food. Sometimes wild boars live in this field. Herds of elephants sometimes roam the paddy fields.

The saplings are planted in these fields from July to August. The views in September will be like this. The different colors of greenery are reflected in these paddy fields. By December, all these fields will turn into a golden sea of ​​paddy. Then there will be a harvest festival in this village. Can be harvested in mid-January. These villagers cannot wait even after the harvest. In order to get a good price for paddy, the government should provide paddy to the procurement centers. But only after two or three months. the farmers get the prices. These farmers get very low prices if they give paddy in the external market.

Another problem faced by Chekadi is the shortage of water for cultivation during the summer. Kabini, which floods during the monsoon, is unable to irrigate these fields in summer. Today, paddy is harvested only once a year.
From this year onwards, the villagers themselves have set up their own barricade in Kabini and are in the process of cultivating Puncha in these fields. We can expect Chekadi to be green again next summer.

Kabini River
Kabini River is a major tributary of the Cauvery River and it originates from the Pakranthalam Hills. After the confluence of the Makiyad and Periya rivers, the Kabini flows around the town of Mananthavady. Meanwhile, the Panamaram River, which originates from Lakkidi and the Banasura Hills, flows 2 km to Kura Islan The Papanashini River, which originates from the Brahmagiri hills where we trekked yesterday, will merge with the Kabini a short distance below. Thus, the river flows east through these forests and villages and merges with the Cauvery at Narsipura in Karnataka. The Kabini is one of the three rivers flowing eastwards in Kerala.

Видео Chekadi Wayanad, An agricultural village in Wayanad | Wayanad Tourist Places Ep. 6/7 канала The Indian Trails