KOCHI: For the people of Angamaly, the revival of the Mullassery-Manjaly thodu is still a distant dream. With an endless number of projects announced to revive the once-busy waterway, none have come to fruition; the 'Thelineer' project being the recent addition. Said to be ambitious since its inception in October last year, Thelineer project aimed at cleaning the 20 km-long thodu - beginning from the premises of the Cochin International Airport - and deepening its banks under the sponsorship of 20 Angamaly-based organisations.
However, the project hit a wall just after removing filth and hyacinth from the portion of the thodu in front of a private institution (The Presidency Club) in Thuravoor panchayat. "The institution was a sponsor of the project and the members of the club were close to the project. That's why we started it from that particular location," said George Stephen, Thelineer project director.
The district panchayat's floating JCB was rented at a nominal cost for the purpose. "We, however, did not expect to incur a high cost in the project. Including the fuel and labour cost, over H 1 lakh was spent. Even after this, we were not getting the desired result as the hyacinth keeps multiplying by the day and we asked the district panchayat for assistance. A project report with an estimate was subsequently submitted," he said.
Like all revival projects announced earlier, the Thelineer project has been alleged to be a faulty project from the start. Residents blame there is an acute lack of research and study before any such projects are announced. "Only after these celebrated projects are announced do those in power realise what is at stake and the challenges in executing it," said N A Varghese, a local resident.
In the case of the Mullassery-Manjaly thodu, the flow of water is different and weak across the waterbody, which facilitates in the excessive growth of hyacinth. "To increase the flow, there is a possibility to release water from the Edamalayar Major Irrigation Project, but it is not practical nor a priority at the time," said George.
As an effort to revive the Manjaly thodu and its distributaries, the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) in Kozhikode was directed to study the source of pollution a few months ago along with measures to revive the thodu. A sum of H 8 lakh was set aside for the purpose. "After consultation with stakeholders, local representatives and residents, comments and feedback regarding the revival process and beautification were added into the draft report.
Subsequently, a final report will be submitted to the govt in the coming days," said Roji M John MLA. The waterbody, which once used to connect Paravur to Angamaly, starts as a small stream from Nedumbassery Airport. The thodu flows through Angamaly municipality till Karayamparambu, where it joins three distributaries to become Manjaly thodu.