THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Clearing of garbage-filled canals in the city has often been a major challenge for the authorities concerned during their efforts to mitigate flooding when the monsoon sets in. Various parts of the city get flooded when canals overflow.After a series of brainstorming sessions to find a permanent solution to the problem, the Amayizhanjan canal in the capital might finally get redemption. Soil testing for a project to rejuvenate the canal got under way and if everything goes by plan, the canal will soon have slabs covering it.
Harikumar C, councillor, Thampanoor, said the project is in the initial stage. “The fund has been allocated for the same and we are waiting for the result of the soil testing to proceed with other works,” he said. Cleaning work worth Rs 50 lakh was undertaken in the Amayizhanjan canal in 2019. The work was carried out on the Thampanoor-Panavila and the Kannamoola-Aakulam stretches. Though the Irrigation Department has come up with a project worth Rs 25 crore to build retaining walls and clean the Kannamoola-Aakulam stretch, it is still in the preliminary stage.
While cleaning Amayizhanjan canal will solve a majority of the flooding woes in the capital, there are other major canals like Pattom Thodu and Ulloor Thodu which also overflow during monsoon. Deputy Mayor P K Raju said a project worth Rs 9.80 crore is on the anvil to revive Ulloor Thodu. Pattom Thodu and Kannamoola canal overflowed during the last monsoon and water entered many houses in the vicinity. The encroachments on the banks of the canals are cited as a major reason for this. Most often, the fund set aside by the Irrigation Department is insufficient to meet the expense to clean the canals.
In the case of Kariyilathodu in Muttathara, lack of funds is cited as a major reason for the delay in undertaking cleaning works. Muttathara often gets flooded during monsoon when the canal starts overflowing. Desilting has also not done here for quite some time, which aggravates the situation.
“Last year, we got Rs 30 lakh for all three sub-divisions under us. All cleaning works were undertaken using that amount. Usually, we don’t get such funding to undertake cleaning works. We were given the amount for the purpose since the last monsoon was rather harsh. A project worth Rs 68 lakh has been approved for Kariyilathodu. The height of the two bridges along the stretch will be raised. Though Pattom Thodu was cleaned recently, it is again polluted,” said Bindhu, assistant executive engineer, Minor Irrigation.A majority of the pre-monsoon cleaning works are undertaken by the city corporation. However, when flash floods occur, both the local body and the departments concerned pass the buck.