THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Four years ago, the district administration launched a flood mitigation scheme, 'Operation Anantha'. However, only the first phase of the project has been completed. As part of the initial phase, drains along a 26-km stretch in East Fort and Thampanoor areas and from the Pattavaryar temple to Attakulangara bypass, Marakkada road to Kuriathy pump house road, Chenthitta to Killipalam and Chalai Market to Erumakkuzhy were cleaned and reconstructed.
Encroachments near the drains were also removed. However, the project came to a halt after Jiji Thomson, former chief secretary and founder of the scheme, retired. "Drains are cleaned right before monsoon, between January and May. We couldn't complete it the year the scheme began. Also, drain networks belong to different departments such as the PWD (Public Works Department), corporation, NH (National Highways) and the KWA (Kerala Water Authority), which affected coordination and further delayed the process," said Jiji, commenting on the second phase.
'Operation Anantha' tackled the flood-like situation in Thampanoor four years ago. But, fast-forward to the present, drains cleaned in the first phase are clogged with waste. Drains have overflown in areas near the Pazhavangadi temple, Karimadom colony, Attakulangara road and the Amayizhanjan Thodu.
According to Jiji, several contractors involved in the first phase are yet to be remunerated by the authorities. Former District Collector Biju Prabhakar who was actively involved in the first phase said: "If the government sanctions Rs 100 crore for the next phase, including Rs 10 crore for drain maintenance, the city can be safe from flooding caused due to overflowing drains."
He suggested a pipeline system as a replacement for the current drainage. "Water will flow quicker through the pipelines and it would also put an end to the dumping of waste," he said.