THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite crores of rupees being spent on the rejuvenation of the Parvathy Puthanar canal, to make it commutable, residents on the banks keep dumping waste into it. According to a resident, Sumesh Krishnan, the garbage included chicken waste, plastic and clothes. “The weeds had been removed, dredging was carried out and piles of garbage had been removed. But the project remained stagnant without the cooperation of the local people,” said Sumesh.
However, A Saifudeen Haji, who is working for the rejuvenation of the canal, said, “The garbage and mud taken from the canal were kept on the banks. Later, it fell back into the canal. A lot of effort thus went in vain. Proper planning must be done.”
The Kerala Waterways and Infrastructures Ltd is in charge of canal rejuvenation and development. As much as D150 crore was allotted for the project. The 18.5-km-long stretch of Kovalam-Akkulam Lake was included in the first phase.
Recently, the trial run, with Minister for Cooperation, Tourism and Devaswom Kadakampally Surendran, was stopped halfway. The journey was scheduled from Veli boat club to Vallakadavu. However, garbage got stuck in the propeller, causing it to stop functioning. The boat was stopped at Karikkakom.
However, the first trial run held on Aakulam-Vallakadavu stretch was successful. The boat service is expected to begin next near. “But the canal still stinks and is dark-coloured owing to the continuous deposit of garbage. Action will be taken against those who dump waste in the canal. The corporation health squad will be informed to find those who deposit garbage in the canal,” read a Facebook post by Surendran.
Parvathy Puthanar canal
With an estimated cost of C150 crore, the Kerala Waterways and Infrastructures Ltd is in charge of canal rejuvenation and development.
In the first phase of the project, the 18.5-km-long stretch of Kovalam-Akkulam Lake was included. Due to the heavy deposit of garbage, the trial run on this stretch was unsuccessful.
The first trial run held on Aakulam-Vallakadavu stretch was successful. Boat services on this route will be operational from next year.