KOCHI: The high-level committee report on Vaduthala bund was reviewed by the High Court on Wednesday. Though some of the parties mentioned in the report had raised objections to being named as problem creators, the court said since none has any arguments over the bund’s existence, the authorities concerned need to submit a detailed report on how to remove it. The bund has been obstructing water flow from the Periyar to Vembanad lake, creating problems for those residing on the river banks.
Santhosh Jacob, a member of Social Welfare Action Alliance Society (SWAAS), said the case has been posted to August 19 for further hearing. In the report submitted by the committee led by Water Resources Department secretary Pranab Jyothi Nath, the presence of the bund has been confirmed. The report said the committee found a raised river bed around the pile group as well as downstream of the bridge.
“This indicates the presence of the bund. Debris of concrete, sandbags and damaged pipes besides remnants of barges are also seen around the pile group of each pier,” said the report. It also said the visual examination of the soil samples extracted from downstream of the piers (between P28 and P31) indicates the presence of bund materials up to a considerable depth.
“Growth of mangroves has also been observed around the pile group. It is clearly evident that the filled earth bund road has not been removed from the portion between pier number P27 and P28,” said the report.“However, no evidence of any other construction has been observed on the site. This indicates that the bund was formed solely from the construction of railway bridge,” said the report.