KOCHI: As monsoon progresses with renewed intensity in Kerala, the condition of Perandoor Canal, a vital waterway in Ernakulam, continues to remain a nightmare for the people.
The canal was earmarked for development under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrut) and the Canal rejuvenation schemes. Unfortunately, the works remain a non-starter.
Stretching 11.5km from Thevara to Perandoor in Vaduthala, the canal passes through major commercial and arterial areas including Panampilly Nagar, Kadavanthra and Kaloor. If restored to its normal self and maintained properly it could serve as a major route for transporting people and cargo like it used to in the good old days.
But currently, it is in an awful state.
The heavy rains every monsoon causes the canal to breach the banks forcing residents in low-lying areas to evacuate to safer places due to water-logging.
The canal is highly polluted with wastes dumped by residents living on its banks. The water is murky brown colour most days with a film of oil afloat on the surface caused by oil spillage from the adjacent Ernakulam Junction Railway Station.
Years of neglect have also left the canal choked with overgrown vegetation posing significant environmental and health hazards, including serving as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Recently it has come under court scrutiny for the perennial delay in the restoration.
As reported by TNIE, in early April 2024, in a scathing indictment of Kochi Corporation’s alleged inaction, Justice Gopinath P S, Ombudsman for Local Self-government Institutions, had issued a directive to revitalise the fast-shrinking Thevara-Perandoor Canal.
The ombudsman instructed the Kochi Corporation to measure the length and width of the canal and remove all encroachments legally within two months.
This canal, along with five others was chosen under the Amrut scheme in 2018 and then in 2019, it was included in the Canal rejuvenation scheme. These schemes promised a comprehensive urban infrastructure, including the cleaning, dredging and revitalisation of waterways like the Perandur Canal, Edappally Canal, Market Canal etc.
On November 29, 2016, the Thevara-Perandoor canal survey was conducted by the SCMS Water Institute, and the report was handed to the Secretary of the Kochi Municipal Corporation. The report included a detailed study of the canal using remote sensing data and an advanced ground survey. It found that the flow of water is blocked at various places.
This study, along with the land acquisition survey conducted in October 2021, by the team headed by K Biju IAS, Special Secretary, Revenue, called for the widening of the canal at certain places and the reconstruction of bridges.
Despite these initial steps, residents say there was little or no action on the ground.
“We were optimistic about the schemes. But as months and years pass by with no visible progress, we are losing hope,” said Bindu George, a resident.
She noted that the canal remains in a deplorable condition that gets worse by the day.
“The authorities are not bothered to even complete the removal of water hyacinths before the monsoon starts.”
Hibi Eden, Member of Parliament (INC), from Ernakulam, blamed the Kochi Municipal Corporation and the incumbent Kerala Government.
“The Central government has already allocated the funds but these people could not implement it in the stipulated time. Kochi Metro Rail Corporation (KMRL) had already submitted a detailed plan for a 14m wide motor navigable canal”, he said.
Officials from the Ernakulam Municipal Corporation, on the other hand, cited several reasons for the delay.
Adv. Anil Kumar, the mayor of Kochi, said that Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) which is in charge of fund distribution is under crisis, and so is the state government. “Due to Covid and elections, the work got delayed. There are a lot of encroachments along the canal banks. The contractor who had taken the tender left halfway. We have reached the tender stage again, but no contractors have taken it yet. A lot of things have to be sorted before we can proceed with full-swing”.