KOCHI: The district administration has decided to start desilting of major canals in the city. The project will be implemented under the supervision of the District Disaster Management Authority, said District Collector S Suhas during a meeting of the District Development Committee on Saturday.
“Measures to avoid waterlogging during flash rain will be taken in the first phase. The process for this has been completed. The project cost is nearly Rs 10 crore,” said Suhas. The project will be implemented with the support of KMRL. “A team of technical experts is to be constituted for conducting studies. Cochin University will oversee this project,” said the collector, adding that the help of residents’ associations will be sought to find clogged drains. The help of the Archives Department will be sought to identify drainage networks.
“Measures to clean Perandur, Mullassery and Edappally canals will be taken. Strict action will be taken against violations of the Coastal Protection Act. A committee has been set up for this purpose,” said the collector. District Planning Officer Liti Mathew, MLAs Eldos Kunnappilly, Antony John, M Swaraj, V P Sajindran, P T Thomas and district panchayat president Dolly Kuriakose were present.