THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ayear after the completion of first phase of ‘Operation Anantha’, the condition of major canals in the city is back to square one.
Though much has been said about cleaning these water bodies as part of flood control ahead of the monsoon, the proposals still remain on paper.
Large-scale encroachment and dumping of waste has reduced at least three major canals - Thekkenakkara Canal, Amayizhanjan Canal and Ulloor Canal - to clogged drains at many places. According to conservationists, a massive clean-up drive needs to be urgently launched to revive the canals.
“It’s hard to believe, but in the 1980s, people used to bathe in the now-heavily polluted Parvathy Puthanar and even in some of the major canals of the capital. Can you imagine even stepping in the muck-filled water now?” asks Sanjeev S J, whose organisation Biotips is involved in green conservation efforts.
According to Sanjeev, the involvement of various stakeholders including the local people, voluntary organisations and various agencies need to be ensured in the cleaning exercise, as each canal has its own peculiarities. “What is needed is a long-term action plan and not quick-fix solutions,” he added.
Thekkenakkara Canal
It is one of the major canals in the capital that starts from Karimadom Colony and passes through East Fort, Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Sreevaraham, Muttathara and NH bye-pass before ending at Parvathy Puthanar.
A visit by ‘Express’ to the area revealed that the canal has been heavily clogged at many places. In Karimadom Colony, the construction of a new housing complex has obstructed the free flow of the canal.
During Operation Anantha, the authorities were able to clean one branch of the Thekkenakkara Canal. However, the clean up of the other branch of the canal, which passes beneath a commercial complex in East Fort, is still caught in legal tangles.
Amayizhanjan Canal
One of the most-polluted canals in the capital, the Amayizhanjan canal passes through the heart of the city before emptying itself in the Karamana river. Besides carrying large quantities of waste including septage, poor maintenance has also resulted in large-scale erosion of the banks.
The district administration has plans to renovate the canal with concrete box culverts covered with concrete slabs, but the project still remains on paper.
Ulloor Canal
The canal originates from Pothencode area and passes through Ulloor, Chalakuzhy and Murinjapalam. It reaches Kannamoola where it joins with the Amayizhanjan Thodu.
While some portions of the canal is highly contaminated, water was found to be stagnant in several reaches. According to local people, adjoining drains, which bring silt and debris in large quantities have compounded the problem.
A clean up of the canal is needed over the next month-and-a-half to prevent overflowing during monsoon, locals say.
De-centralised Cleaning
According to District Collector S Venkatesapathy, the canals would be cleaned as part of the pre-monsoon drive. “As in the previous years, this would be carried out by the local bodies concerned,” he added.
“As part of the MNREGS scheme, we have undertaken some projects to clean up the canals. Also, this time, we are not expecting floods to happen in most of the places. The work will be totally decentralised and we plan to complete it well in time,” Venkatesapathy said.