Munroe Island or Mundrothuruthu is located at the confluence of Ashtamudi Lake and the Kallada River, in Kollam district, Kerala, South India. The island, accessible by road, rail and inland water navigation, is about 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Kollam by road, 38 kilometres (24 mi) north from Paravur, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) west from Kundara and about 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Karunagapally. As of the 2011 Indian census, the administrative village of Mundrothuruth (which includes nearby small villages as well) has a total population of 9599.
The place is named in honour of Resident Colonel John Munro of the former Princely State of Travancore. The island measures 13.4 square kilometres (5.2 sq mi) in area.
History
In 1795 the British established their supremacy in South India and the princely state of Travancore came under their governance. From 1800 onwards, a Resident was appointed by East India Company as administrative head of Travancore. The first Resident was Colonel Colin Macaulay, followed by Colonel John Munro. During his tenure Munro oversaw the land reclamation efforts in the delta where Kallada River joins Ashtamudi Lake and the reclaimed island was named after him as Munroe Island. The Dutch Church here in Munroe Island is one of the ancient churches in Kerala. It was built by the Dutch in 1878. The red brick church is a blend of Dutch-Keralaarchitecture on the scenic banks of Lake Ashtamudi.
The villagers depended on coconut coir manufacturing as livelihood, however, post Indian Ocean tsunami, things have changed.
Tourism
The island village is a tourism destination where one can see the coir retting process, coir weaving, fishing, prawns feeding, migratory bird watch, narrow canals and waterways, coconut farms on the lake shore, lagoons, mangrove plants and the beautiful tiny islands of Pathupara.
Kallada Boat Race, which is one of the famous boat races in Kerala, is at Karuvathrakadavu- Muthiraparambu nettayam in Munroethuruth.
Submerging Threat
Low-lying areas of the Island are now under a threat of Submerging in high tides. This is post tsunami phenomena. An expert team from the Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering, Kollam has started a study into the phenomena. The team headed by Prof. Gouri Antharjanam, and consisting of Prof. Suniil Kumar, Prof. Sirajudeen, Prof. Sruthi. R. Krishnan, Prof. Amal Azad and Prof. Udayakumar made several visits to the Island. The death of Lans Naik Sudheesh of this island in the Border area at Siachin has invoked interest of the outer world to the problems of this Place.
Content Credits : Wikipedia
Munroe Island Photo Gallery
