KOCHI: Waterlogging has been a vexing issue for Kochiites for quite some time, especially during monsoon. But it is not a seasonal issue for the residents of Indira Nagar Colony living on the banks of Ponneth Canal. Rampant disposal of septic waste into the water body by miscreants for the past two years has hindered the flow of the canal.
“We have been facing the issue for more than two years. Residents, especially toddlers, are mainly affected by the stagnant water filled with septic tank waste. Despite knocking on many doors, no perennial solution has been found. Without much option, we are manually clearing the canal these days,” said E V K Nair, a resident. According to residents, the root cause of the problem is generated by private players who collect waste from residential apartments and dump them into the canal instead of transporting them to the Corporation’s septage treatment plants at Brahmapuram and Vathuruthy.
A culvert over the two-metre-wide canal that connects a YMCA office with the mainland has sunk two feet causing further disruption in the flow of water. “As the canal joins Chilavannur backwaters in the end, the issue becomes severe during high tide. Though it was properly dredged during Operation Breakthrough, unscrupulous people again dumped waste during monsoon,” he said.