KOCHI: The Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP) will soon prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the remodelling of major canals in the city. It is as per the instructions given by the Minister of Urban Affairs Manjalamkuzhi Ali that the study will be conducted. Accordingly, the major canals including Thevara-Perandoor Canal, Karanakkodam Canal, Manthra Canal, Pandarachal and Pallichal will be renovated so as to improve the sewage network of the city. The DPR will mainly focus on the purification of water and construction of side walls on both the sides of the canals.
The Minister who viewed the state of the Perandoor Canal the other day during the inauguration of the new bridge constructed by GCDA across the canal observed that it was important to clean the canals on a war footing. He also assured that the funds will be allotted for the purpose and the issues related with remodelling will also be solved.
Earlier the corporation had plans to make the canals in the city navigable by cleaning them. The plan was to add the canals to the the existing water network, there by improving the goods transport. As per the plan, the Thevara-Perandoor Canal, Karanakkodam Canal, Edappally Canal, Changadam Pokku Canal, Pandarachal, Pashnithodu and Pallichal Canal will be made navigable.
However, the project is yet to materialise and Mayor Tony Chammany, during the meeting with the representatives of German Development bank, hinted that the project has been almost scrapped as it is not feasible to make all the canals navigable. The reasons for dropping the project is the huge land acquisition cost.