The city, where flooding caused by heavy rain is nothing new, yet again saw most of its low-lying areas under knee-deep water on Thursday. Bylanes as well as arteries were at the receiving end in addition to the usual submergence at Thampanoor.
Adding to the woes of the residents, visitors and numerous tourists were the overflowing manholes on roads, which led to rainwater getting mixed with sewage water. Wading through the stinking, polluted water was the only way left for pedestrians.
Sadly, the response from authorities hints at no solution in the immediate future.
“Tender has been floated to repair the damaged manholes at the earliest. Overflow is usually high when it rains heavily. Also, residents need to be made aware of the situation. The drains have to be taken care of by the concerned department - PWD or the City Corporation,” said a senior official of the Sewage Department.
When the City Corporation is boasting of opening a disaster management cell with necessary equipment, the cell is in fact waiting for the report of the hazard-vulnerability and risk assessment study which would take another 12 months to be completed.
As per the data available at the distress relief control room opened at Taluk Office, six cases have been reported so far on houses that are facing the risk of collapse in the flooding.