THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a major development, the recently sworn-in UDF government has decided to revive Operation Anantha — which became the centre of a major political controversy a decade ago — to address the recurring flooding woes of the state capital. Health Minister and Vattiyoorkavu MLA K Muraleedharan said the government has decided to relaunch Operation Anantha as a long-term solution to the capital city’s recurring flooding and water-logging.
The decision comes in the wake of the recent heavy rain that inundated several parts of the capital, exposing the city’s continued vulnerability to urban flooding despite years of promises and ineffective interventions.
Speaking to TNIE, Muraleedharan said flood mitigation in the capital requires coordinated action by multiple agencies, including the irrigation department, city corporation and the Railways.
He said additional chief secretary (water resources) Biswanath Sinha has been tasked with coordinating the efforts. Originally launched in 2015 during the previous UDF regime, Operation Anantha was conceived as a comprehensive urban flood mitigation initiative aimed at restoring the city’s natural drainage network.
The project focused on cleaning and widening canals, removing encroachments, desilting waterways and improving stormwater drainage to prevent waterlogging in low-lying areas.
However, the programme soon became the centre of a major political controversy and ended abruptly. The minister said the initiative will focus on the restoration and modernisation of the city’s canal network and drainage infrastructure.
“We are planning both immediate and long-term measures. Urgent works will be undertaken immediately to address the present flooding situation. The district collector will coordinate the implementation of the project and oversee inter-departmental coordination,” he said.
Led by then chief secretary Jiji Thomson and implemented under the district administration, the project involved the removal of encroachments along critical drainage channels, including the Amayizhanchan Canal.
While officials argued that the measures were necessary to restore water flow, the demolition drives triggered protests from affected residents and traders. Former chief secretary Jiji Thomson said that the flooding issue in the capital cannot be solved through temporary cleaning drives or seasonal interventions.
He said that a long term action plan backed by political will was required for effective implementation of such a drive. “What is required is a permanent institutional mechanism headed by a powerful officer who can coordinate all agencies and departments involved. Ideally, this should be a monitoring mechanism under the chief secretary or an officer vested with equivalent authority.
Unless the person leading the effort has the power to take decisions and enforce them across departments, nothing substantial will happen,” said Jiji Thomson.
The government must act without political considerations, he said. “Encroachments and violations should be removed irrespective of whether they belong to a particular political party or any influential individual. During our time, we took action against structures belonging to people across the political spectrum because the objective was to protect public interest. Strong action sends a message that the government is serious and will not compromise on issues affecting public safety,” he said.