KOCHI: After a six-month hiatus, the project to restore canals in the city, under the Integrated Urban Regeneration and Water Transport System (IURWTS), is expected to take off, with the state government clearing the tender for restoration of the 660m-long Market Canal.
“A tender for `37.83 crore has been sanctioned, and work is set to begin soon,” said an official with Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL), the agency implementing the project.
“We have received cabinet approval for the tender, and the dredging and cleaning work will be carried out soon to deepen the canal. Construction work on the footpath will also begin soon,” the official added.
“It is important that restoration work of the canal is initiated at the earliest. The channel remains in poor condition. The street lights and CCTV cameras in the area are out of order. The fencing erected earlier has been damaged, allowing people to throw waste into the canal,” said Tyson Mathew, councillor of Ernakulam North division. Some portions of the embankment have also collapsed, leaving the waterway in a precarious condition.
The `3,716-crore IURWTS project was launched by the state government to revive the six major canals in Kochi, including Market Canal. The project received administrative sanction last May. However, work was held up by delays to the tendering process.
Manu Jacob, former councillor of the division, said restoration work was delayed as files were pending with the government’s finance department, following cost escalation.
“KMRL had begun the work some three years ago. However, it was halted over issues with the contractor. The initiative was revived after the cabinet cleared the IURWTS project. Following the delay, I wrote to the government and was informed that approval was delayed due to cost escalation,” he said.
The project, focusing on Perandoor, Chilavannoor, Edappally, Thevara, Konthuruthy, and Market canals, is designed to revitalise the waterbodies and restore water transport through them, besides solve the city’s waterlogging problem.