KOCHI: The ill-maintained Manjaly canal which had once been a prime waterway in the past has been spruced up as part of the ambitious Rs 4 crore cleaning project. However, residents have come out against the cleaning works undertaken by the Irrigation department and allege that the project has been undertaken to ensure waterfront plots to real estate mafias.
"In the past, the paddy fields surrounding the canal were overflowing making the land marshy and uncultivable. Though, we had approached the government to remove the sludge, there was never any response. These paddy fields don't belong to us anymore and I was the last one who ploughed these fields. Now, the government is cleaning the water body in the name of irrigation", said Sebastian Vazhakkala, a Parakkadavu panchayat ward member.
The canal which starts from Manjapra in Angamaly is an important water channel in the northern parts of Paravoor and Aluva taluks of Ernakulam district. According to a site survey conducted by Lal Bahadur Shastri institute, Thiruvananthapuram, the 30 to 40 m wide canal has now become 15m wide due to deposition of silts along its side. The major reason is the hefty growth of water hyacinth river and other water plants that run wild due to unchecked flow of fertilizer into the water body.
The cleaning project aims to increase the width of the canal. Bunds will be build for 2665m up to the Madhurapuram bridge. The soil exploration test and site survey alone cost around Rs 8 lakhs and was conducted when the project was in the hands of Kerala Land Development Corporation (KLDC). The KLDC had cleared the canal in the upstream reach. In 2015, NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) had granted Rs 14.5 crore loan for funding the water body. "Although we have provided funding for the project, we are not directly involved with its supervision", said deputy general manager of NABARD Baiju N Kurup.
The project aims to provide the hectares of paddy fields, under Nedumbassery, Kunnukara, Parakkadavu and Chengamanad Grama Panchayat, with irrigation facilities.
"We are aware that there are no farm lands presently but once the thodu is cleaned and bunds constructed, it will make the surrounding marshy lands fertile enough for farming. The second stage of the project will begin once the chief engineer sanctions it," said Shyam Kumar, assistant executive engineer under Aluva irrigation (Inv.) sub-division. He also added that removing water weeds would not be an easy task and that the removal of debris needed to be done from the source end as sediment formed at the tail end would cause clogging. "The first stage of the project is complete. We have spent 4 crores for its completion and have cleared around 4.5km of land from Angamaly ( munnuthodu) to Vettipuzhakavu Bhagavathi temple", said George Kachapilly a member of Manjaly Thodu Samrakshana Samithi. Manjaly was more than an inland waterway. It was what made Angamaly the ancient Muziris trade centre. It was the breeding ground for a variety of fish like Aarakan ( Macrognathus guentheri). Today, all one can find are invasive specimens like Kari Meen ( Pearl Spot or Etroplus suratensis) and Manja Koori ( yellow catfish or Horobagrus brachysoma). Pollution has reached such a point that fishing here is at a standstill. The canal has become polluted not only due agricultural waste but also since diesel tank lorries are cleaned here.
" We saw two JCBs arrive and remove the African payal but after that no further steps have been taken. With the arrival of the monsoons, the algae have grown back. The authorities have been very callous with the project since they have not cleared the source," says K L Francis a resident from Parakkadavu Panchayat.