Labourers engaged in clearing a drain at Kalamassery as part of the pre-monsoon cleaning drive to prevent waterlogging in the city | Albin Mathew
Labourers engaged in clearing a drain at Kalamassery as part of the pre-monsoon cleaning drive to prevent waterlogging in the city | Albin Mathew

HC: Clear debris within a day of cleaning drains

Directive issued based on plea that corp does not remove silt after cleaning canals

KOCHI: The High Court on Monday directed the secretary of the Kochi Corporation to ensure that as and when drains are de-silted, the resulting debris is removed within 24 hours.Justice Devan Ramachandran issued the directive when a petition seeking to clean the canals in the city came up for hearing. The petitioners informed the court that the corporation, while de-silting drains, deposits the silt and debris on the roadside and removes it either after considerable delay or never at all. The court observed that this was certainly something the corporation must look into immediately as if the debris and sand are not removed, chances of them falling back into the drain are high due to incessant rainfall.

The corporation submitted that piling and slab laying works for Thevara canal had started and will be completed soon. Work on the 2.5km stretch of the Perandoor canal from GCDA-Kadavanthra to Kammattipadam is also almost over. The district administration submitted that 19 of the 24 railway culverts had been jetted and the rest will be jetted within a week. The cleaning of the Perandoor mouth of the Thevara-Perandoor canal and the removal of silt will be completed within a week. The government pleader submitted that Snehil Kumar Singh, the sub-collector of Fort Kochi, had been entrusted with the coordination of flood mitigation works of the Kochi Corporation, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) and other stakeholders.

The corporation’s counsel submitted that the cleaning of drains is progressing. KMRL submitted that as for the pipe culvert at Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, the work had already begun. KMRL said they are extending full support to the corporation for removing the slabs on footpaths and restoration of pavement tiles.

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