Market Flooded as River Swells in Ktm

Market Flooded as River Swells in Ktm

KOTTAYAM: Adding to the woes of the vendors and customers at Kottayam fish market, the water level of nearby Kodoor river has raised up to the ground level inundating the low-lying market ground on Sunday.

Unscientific construction and non-typical geography of the market have pushed the sellers out of their shops to the highway sides causing further inconvenience for the buyers and the dwellers.

The fish market located at Kodimatha lie close to the Kodoor River in a wall’s distance. The market ground is below the level of the nearby road, which does not have a proper drainage system, causing the rainwater to run into the market. As part of the drainage system, or what left of it, there is a pipe opening to the river placed at the ground level in the market. With the water level of the river rising, water started flowing back to the market through the very same pipe trapping the ground from both the sides.

According to Mujeeb, a shop owner in the market, this is a common phenomenon during heavy rains.

“There are two doorless toilets in the market, near to the drainage. With the water level rising, the toilets also got flooded worsening the scenario. Besides, the piled up waste in the premises make it a deadly combo,” he said.As many as 20 sellers have shifted their sales to the roadsides temporarily as their shops got flooded. They have shifted to makeshift stalls with no protection for their goods in the incessant rain.

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The New Indian Express
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