THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even though he had been a familiar face in the political arena, the recent win in the assembly elections marked C P John’s debut stint as an MLA.
Chosen by the majority to be the representative of Thiruvananthapuram, the constituency at the heart of the state capital, John tries to pour in his experience as a former member of the Kerala State Planning Board, to solve the issues faced by the city — varying from waterlogging to water scarcity and housing of coastal people.
“My constituency is an age-old urban centre, many parts of which were built in the erstwhile Travancore. Despite being the state capital, problems are aplenty here. It requires a futuristic solution which could take time. Even though many of these require more than five years to be completed, I want to lay a strong foundation for all of these,” John told the TNIE.
Beginning with the waterlogging issue, the MLA-designate said that moves like ‘Operation Anantha’ to clean the drains in the city should be done on a war footing. “Even though the key roads get logged in heavy rains, it eventually seeps into the water bodies, hinting that there are natural ways for water flow.
However, the long-term solutions, like subsurface dams, need to be envisioned as a special project, more than that of a PWD exercise,” he said. John also pointed out that the jurisdiction of state government and local bodies has boundaries, but a coordinated effort is hoped for towards this.
Connecting to this, John envisions revival and conservation of the canal network in the constituency. “The entire district has over 18km of canal stretches alone, most of which pass through this constituency. I am considering the fencing of major areas of these canals and providing walkways alongside,” he added.
Housing of people from the coastal areas of the constituency is a key concern, John said. “Many of them live in dilapidated houses. Some of the projects that were implemented by the previous government in this light were decent. We will look into options that have the good traits from them, while overcoming the shortcomings,” he said. Exploring aspects of pilgrim tourism in the city, John commented that projects surrounding the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, churches and mosques in the coastal belts are also under his active consideration.
Talking about the drinking water crisis, he said that the previous government’s improper planning has resulted in the ongoing concerns. “Weak pipes were placed for water distribution as part of the Smart City project, because of which the water flow had to be reduced to prevent breakage. While those houses in the tail end of the distribution network were affected in the initial days, today even those in the city are suffering,” he said.
