Over 100 Poonthura families seek lasting solution from flood threat

Rainwater drained out through a canal earlier, until development activities choked its flow, they say.

Rosy building a makeshift barrier of sand, stones and wooden planks at the entrance of her home in a desperate effort to keep out floodwaters at Balan Nagar near Poonthura, Thiruvananthapuram. (Photo | B P Deepu, EPS)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After every intense spell of rain Rosa’s modest house in Balan Nagar, Poonthura, gets inundated.

“When the waters enter, we are trapped. Water surrounds us on all four sides. Me and my husband remain on the one bed in the house amid the flooding,” laments the 62-year-old, who lives with her 72-year-old husband who is unwell and has mobility issues.

“We have been facing this issue for over a decade. My husband lost his legs and arms to cancer. Evacuation is impossible when it starts flooding as there is no one to help us move.

There are many elderly people like us who are sick and bedridden who face the same situation here,” says Rosa, who is one among the over 100 families living in despair in the flood-prone Balan Nagar and Alukad areas of Poonthura ward under the corporation.

Another monsoon has arrived and the residents are left in the lurch with no solution in sight. Anthony, who has been living in Balan Nagar for over two decades, said rainwater used to drain out through a canal connected to the Parvathi Puthannaar waterway before developmental activities gradually choked the natural flow.

“Earlier, when it rained, the water would recede within two or three days. There were proper channels for the water to flow out. But after a road was constructed through Mother Teresa Colony and a canal was narrowed by encroachments and construction activities, the drainage path was blocked,” he said. The residents have staged many protests, road blockades and submitted many petitions, but nothing has happened on the ground.

Poonthura councillor Sruthimol recently made a representation seeking the urgent intervention of the District Disaster Management Authority and other concerned departments to address the issue before the southwest monsoon intensifies. “Heavy rains routinely inundate homes in these settlements, disrupting life and posing serious risk to public health and safety. I took it up with the local MLA and minister C P John. Authorities have promised a solution after the monsoon season,” Sruthimol said.