KOCHI: Several parts of the city witnessed waterlogging in the evening showers of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, raising question marks on the progress of pre-monsoon cleaning of roads and canals ahead of the monsoon. Kalamassery, Edapally, Kaloor, and MG Road were among the areas which witnessed waterlogging in the quick evening showers, catching the district administration off guard.
On Wednesday, Minister P Rajeeve, who is in charge of Ernakulam, issued directions to the district administration and local bodies to speed up pre-monsoon cleaning of canals and lakes in the district. An online meeting convened by Rajeeve, and attended by Ernakulam Collector N S K Umesh and other senior officers, also decided to complete the activities of Operation Vahini, along with Operation Breakthrough and Smart City Mission in a timebound manner.
S Gopakumar, an architect and president of Better Kochi Response Group, said the authorities should speed up the cleaning of canals. “The minister’s directive to speed up the cleaning of canals and to resume the operation breakthrough initiative comes as a relief for all of us. The Mullessery Canal should be deepened as soon as possible, and the waste from other canals in the area should also be removed. Normal cleaning activities should be completed quickly,” said Gopakumar. Operation Breakthrough was an initiative by the Ernakulam district administration to solve waterlogging in the city.
Meanwhile, Fort Kochi councillor Antony Kureethara said that the Corporation has not made any effort to clean the canals before monsoon. “These cleaning efforts should have begun much earlier. However, despite the minister’s instructions, they are yet to start working, and the corporation has not yet taken any action,” said Antony.
“The waste on the streets of Kochi will create more issues as the monsoon arrives,” added Antony. Antony said that people are dumping waste on the streets and that the streets should also be cleaned. “Not just canals and rivers, streets in the city, as well as in the 74 divisions, are unclean. The source-level waste management is not properly done. Because of this, the streets have become dumping yards. We have raised this issue in the council on Thursday,” he added.
Adding to what the councillor said, Gopakumar also said that there is an increasing need for cleaning the streets too. “People are dumping wastes on streets. This accumulated waste should be removed soon. If the situation persists, there will be more pollution. The impact of water logging will be more dangerous then. We are worried about it,” he added. The third phase of Operation Breakthrough aims to replace the pipelines of the Kerala Water Authority passing through the canal from Ernakulam KSRTC bus stand to TD Road.
Waterlogging near the KSRTC bus stand, Ernakulam Junction railway station, and M G Road was one of the major issues caused by the blockage in Mullassery Canal. The second phase of Operation Breakthrough involved dredging and deepening the canal.