acres were reclaimed under the leadership of Pallithanam Luca Matthai, Cunnumpurathu Kurien, Vachaparampil Mathen, Pazhayaparmpil Chacko, Kunnathusseril Peious, Ettuparayil Xavier and Pattassery PP Mathai. During the third period of new reclamation, R Block Kayal covering 1,400 acres was reclaimed by the joint efforts of eight families led by then member of Sree Moolam Popular Assembly, Pallithanam Luca Matthai. His partners in the reclamation included Vachaparampil Mathen, Pazhayaparmpil Chacko, Ettuparayil Xavier, Pattassery PP Mathai, Kaarikkuzhi Ponnada Vaakkaal Mathulla Mappila (E & F block), Meledom, Paruthickal and Kandakudy. Once, while the king of travancore visited the Erupathinalayiram Kayal he was pleased and told Kaarikkuzhi Mathulla Mappila that he should have bought a Ponnada to honor him. Since he has not bought a Ponnada, he presented "Ponnada Vaakkaal" (Ponnada by word). Thereafter his house was known as Ponnadavaakkaal. From 1920 to 1940 reclamation activity came to a halt because of a steep drop in the price of rice. Due to the steep decline in the price of rice between 1920 and 1940 reclamation activities slowed down, but they gained momentum again in the early 1940s. During this period, in order to increase agricultural output, a government initiated "Grow More Food" campaign and the provision of incentives encouraged new reclamations. The advent of electric motors made reclamation relatively easier, cheaper and less risky as compared to in earlier periods. The last tract of the reclamations namely Q, S and T block were made during this period by Joseph Murickan (Muricken Outhachan) and his wife's family Puthanppura Panchara (Veliyanadu). As farming in the area increased, farmers felt themselves constrained by the two cycles a year for rice cultivation. The reason for which is the limited availability of potable water in Kuttanadu. During the monsoon seasons, the water from the mountains flow through the rivers to the sea, bringing potable water to Kuttanadu. But during summer, due to the low level of the region seawater enters Kuttanadu, significantly increasing the salinity of the water and making it unpotable. Kuttanad is also recognised as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) by FAO. Thottappally Spillway Thottappally Spillway project was designed as a permanent solution to the flood situation in Kuttanad. This programme was envisaged in such a way that flood waters from Pamba, Manimalayar and Achankovil were diverted to the sea before it reached Vembanad lake. The spillway was commissioned in 1955. In 1968, the Government of