KOCHI: The state government has announced a project under the Rebuild Kerala Initiative (RKI) to address the perennial flooding and waterlogging in the Pottachal and Parutholi areas of the Kalamassery municipality. The Rs 14.5 crore project aims to eliminate waterlogging and flooding at Alfia Nagar, Arafa Nagar, Vidyanagar, and Cochin University as well, and will be completed within nine months, said Industries Minister P Rajeeve, who is also the Kalamassery MLA.
The project was approved by the RKI’s implementation committee meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. The irrigation department conducted a mapping in the area following Rajeeve’s suggestion. As per the plan, the Pottachal canal will be widened and protected using the box culvert. The culvert will also be reconstructed, according to an official statement here.
“The encroachment has significantly reduced the canal’s width, turning parts of it into a narrow drain and causing immediate flooding during the monsoon. The project will help eliminate waterlogging and flooding in Pottachal and Cusat areas,” the minister said. The canal’s width will be increased along its entire 1,037-metre length. “Once completed, the long-pending needs of the residents will be met,” said Rajeeve.