Motorist caught up in the flooded city roads  as unexpected rain lashed the city last year
Motorist caught up in the flooded city roads as unexpected rain lashed the city last year

Let’s not mess it up

Frequent flash floods have been making lives difficult in the city. To mitigate the situation, a C200-crore project is in the pipeline
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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: To address recurring flooding in the district, the state government has submitted a detailed project report (DPR) for an urban flood management project in the capital. According to official sources, the DPR has been submitted by the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). NDMA has sanctioned a project worth Rs 200 crore to develop integrated solutions to combat urban flooding in Thiruvananthapuram.

The new project focuses on devising a comprehensive strategy to mitigate the impact of urban flooding in the city, which witnessed multiple incidents of waterlogging in the past couple of years.

The DPR has been prepared based on the proposals submitted by multiple government departments, including major and minor irrigation departments, the public works department and the corporation. 

The irrigation department, the custodian of the major canal networks within the city limits, has submitted proposals worth Rs 100 crore. NDMA will sanction Rs 150 crore and the state government will have to chip in with the remaining Rs 50 crore for executing the project.

An official of the irrigation department says cleaning and reconstruction of Thekkanakkara canal is one of the key works in the project. “At present, 85 per cent of the canal is clogged. There will be flash floods unless it is cleared. We have earmarked Rs 16 crore for cleaning up Thekkanakkara canal,” says the official. 

The official adds that one of the other key proposals excluded from the DPR was a mechanised regulatory system at the Veli breakwater. “The government decided not to include this project owing to technical concerns. There is also an objection from the local community,” the official explains. 

People wade through a flooded road in Thiruvananthapuram|File pics
People wade through a flooded road in Thiruvananthapuram|File pics

Following recurring waterlogging, the corporation had roped in IIT Roorkee to undertake a mitigation study. The IIT team made various recommendations to mitigate flooding in vulnerable areas, including Vettucaud. However, an official with the corporation says the civic body has put the study by IIT Roorkee on hold because of the NDMA-funded flood mitigation project. 

“The civic body is seriously considering IIT Roorkee’s involvement in the implementation of this mitigation project,” says an official. 

Based on the recommendations of IIT Roorkee, the civic body has taken up a project to construct a stormwater drain at Vettucaud to address the flooding in localities in and around All Saints’ College, especially the residential areas of Eenthivilakam and Balanagar in Vettucaud.

“A project worth Rs 5 crore is being planned at Vettucaud under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme. The preliminary work has already begun and the plan is to construct a stormwater drain to release the flood water to the sea. At present, we are using a pump set for the same,” the official explains.  

Pre-monsoon sanitation drive takes off

As flash floods and extreme rain events become a major concern, the corporation has launched the pre-monsoon sanitation drive in the state capital. 

Health standing committee chairperson Gayathri Babu says Rs 50,000 has been sanctioned for each ward to begin the cleaning activities.

“The work has already begun in many wards and we will be releasing more funds based on the requirement of each ward,” says Gayathri. 

Erratic weather is posing a challenge before the civic body as untimely heavy rain is affecting the cleaning activities.

Meanwhile, a section of councillors claim the fund is insufficient.

“The Rs 50,000 earmarked is not enough. Last year too we demanded more funds. We had urged the civic body to raise the allocation to Rs 1 lakh last year. But they released more funds to the left-ruled wards only,” alleges BJP councillor Karamana Ajith.

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