KOCHI: People living along the banks of the Mullassery canal are increasingly frustrated as authorities continue to delay deepening and widening work under Operation Breakthrough. Despite a High Court order in February mandating completion of the project by monsoon this year, the pace of work remains sluggish. Now, with monsoon looming, residents in areas around MG Road, Karikkamuri, Chinmayananda Road, and the north-south corridor are bracing for the worst.
“Every monsoon since 2019 has seen the entire locality getting flooded. Knee-deep water enters my house every time. The roads get waterlogged. The project was received with great anticipation by residents, but we continue to be blindsided by authorities. People are now concerned about the future of the project,” said T Ravindran, member of the executive committee of the Karikkamuri residents association.
“Along several stretches, sand bags and boulders used for construction hinder the flow of the canal. This must be cleared before the monsoon to prevent serious flooding,” he stressed.
“The project, which has been at a standstill, is causing great difficulties for vendors, residents, and other people along its banks. Business has been bad for vendors and nobody rents property in the area,” according to former councillor K V P Krishnakumar.
“Crores of rupees have been spent over three years, but the lack of any positive result is itself a matter of concern,” he added. Restoration of a 829 m stretch of the canal was launched as part of the fourth phase of Operation Breakthrough in 2022.
Although nearly 650 m of the project has been completed, work on around 150 m, along crucial parts of the city in the MG Road region and the eastern end of the canal, has been more or less stalled.
The minor irrigation department, which oversees the project, has now declared that work will not be completed before this year’s monsoon and that it would continue after the season under a more efficient contractor.
“It is shocking that the contract is being terminated at a point when we expected the project to be wrapped up. A main problem we face is the direction of flow: from west to east. The pump sets used to restore the flow are now not working at both ends of the canal. When pumped, the water floods Kammattipadam and surrounding regions, which in turn is creating tension among communities here,” ward councillor Padmaja Menon said.
“While we have been stressing on completion of the project, we must realise that this alone will not resolve concerns of waterlogging in the city. The water channelled from metro lanes along MG Road should be properly removed by widening the drains. Railway culverts along TP canal should be regularly cleaned. Encroachments along the canal and silt deposits at its mouth are also major worries. Rectifying these issues alone will save the city from serious flooding,” she added.