KOCHI: The downpour on Tuesday night left many parts of the city inundated. Despite progress in the Operation Breakthrough project and the Kochi corporation’s efforts to clean the drains and canals to improve the flow of rainwater to waterbodies, there is no significant relief to the problem of waterlogging. Several places in the city, including Kalabhavan Road, MG Road, Padma Junction, Judge’s Avenue, KSRTC Depot and TD Road, reported waterlogging.
R Baji Chandran, the technical committee chairman of Operation Breakthrough, points out that the roads in the city remain flooded as the rainwater fails to seep into the drains.
“It is the failure of the authorities involved in the unscientific construction of roads and footpaths that has left the city inundated despite regular cleaning of canals and the implementation of Operation Breakthrough. If the water from the roads is not reaching the drain, how can we expect the city to be free from waterlogging? We have seen the work of Kochi Metro Rail Limited at MG Road,” Chandran said.
Many drains built by agencies like KMRL and the Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML) fail to let rainwater into the canals, he pointed out. Chandran also cited the dumping of food waste from the restaurants and hotels on the stretch as one of the major reasons for waterlogging on MG Road. “It is the responsibility of the corporation officials to ensure that hotels don’t have an outlet to the drains other than that to dump treated wastewater,” he said.
Many parts of Kalamassery also experienced waterlogging, especially in places where KMRL’s footpath and drain work are under construction. Responding to a query, a KMRL official said the work in South Kalamassery is progressing. “Once the work is completed, the waterlogging issue will be solved,” the official said.