Another soggy day, the same pitiful circumstances

Heavy rain that had been falling continuously since 3pm on Thursday caused some areas of Kochi to flood for the second day in a row.

Within hours of the rain, many divisions’ low-lying areas, including portions of TD Road and Azad Road, Karikkamuri, Ernakulam Junction railway station, Panampilly Nagar, Kaloor, Thammanam, MG Road, and others, were inundated, causing traffic to become chaotic. The most impacted were around fifty households in Santhipuram Colony, Thammanam.

After the storm on Wednesday night, water from the canal and sewers had seeped into their homes. “The flood eventually subsided, but Thursday’s intense rains brought about the same circumstance once again. Waste water from the drain is getting into the dwellings, which puts people’s health at risk, according to Elsy, 73, who has lived in the colony for the previous 45 years. The colony’s occupants said that this been the state of affairs for the previous 12 years.

The invasion caused the drain’s breadth to decrease over time. There are no remedial measures being taken by the government. Water from the drain seeps into our homes, contaminating food, destroying furniture, and breaking down electronics. We had obtained a bank loan in order to purchase the equipment,” lamented homeowner Ramla Siddique. “We are moved to a relief camp whenever there is a situation similar to a flood,” she said.

If things become worse, plans have been made, according to local councillor George Nanat, to move colony inhabitants to a relief camp that has been set up at St. Rita’s Girl’s High School in Ponnurunni. According to Nanat, the school’s keys have been given to the Tripunithura village officer so that a relief camp may be put up if needed.

“After the rain stops, the area will be flooded for a few hours. The water must flow down the Karnakodam Canal to the backwaters since the colony is located in a low-lying location. This will take longer since it is high tide, according to Nanat.

Waterlogging was caused by persistent rain at high tide, according to Kochi Mayor M Anilkumar. “A significant portion of the canal and drain cleaning work has been completed by the company. As a result, waterlogging on the roadways persisted for just a few hours after the rain ended. The only way to permanently address Kochi’s waterlogging problem, according to him, is to finish the revitalization project of the city’s six main canals.

In the meanwhile, the mayor claimed that the improper building of the drain was to blame for the waterlogging at MG Road.

“We have already notified the Kerala High Court about the issue. In this respect, the company has sent a letter to Kochi Metro Rail Ltd. (KMRL) MD Loknath Behera. When KMRL built the drainage system on MG Road during the previous council’s tenure, it was not intended to allow for a smooth water flow. After informing the KMRL, the public works department, and the HC of this, the court ordered that the canal be rebuilt, he stated.

Anilkumar claimed to have met with P A Mohamed Riyas, the minister of works, to discuss rebuilding the canal. “The PWD created a thorough estimate per his request and presented it for administrative approval. Rebuilding the canal is desperately needed. The corporation feels that the rebuilding should be handled by PWD or KMRL, the company who built it initially,” he said.

Anilkumar said that the company has ordered cutting-edge equipment, such as silt pushers and weed harvesters, and that it should have them by the end of June. It is expected that the devices would greatly enhance the Perandoor canal’s functionality. The existence of sewage and water authority pipes, among other reasons, has caused the Mullassery canal construction to go longer than expected, even with the district collector and the HC’s constant participation. Even though the irrigation agency didn’t finish the job, the municipality swiftly moved merchants out of the canal area, according to Anilkumar.

The mayor said that bids were accelerated and pre-monsoon cleaning operations were scheduled prior to the elections. He said that around 80% of the work is finished, with some continuing until May 31. Since Wednesday night, the section-cum-jetting machine has been in operation clearing the accumulated material from the drains on MG Road. The new equipment that will arrive in June will speed up the process even further. He said that people from the fire department, irrigation department, corporation secretary, district collector, and engineer are all on duty around-the-clock.

Oppn councillors: No pre-monsoon cleanup was completed.

On Thursday, in the midst of a downpour, UDF council members protested by clearing mud from the Karanakodam canal, citing the Kochi corporation’s alleged inability to finish pre-monsoon cleaning work. When Mayor M. Anilkumar claimed that the corporation had finished 80% of the work, the council members were incensed. “The company should have begun cleaning in April or May, but it didn’t start until the end of May. According to opposition leader Antony Kureethara, none of the important canals, such as the Karanakodam and Thevara-Perandoor canals, have been desilted to date.