KOCHI: All those who have waded at least once through the black, filthy water that floods the KSRTC bus station in the heart of Kochi city even after a brief spate of heavy rain would have found the video the perfect way to pour scorn on the authorities. For others, watching the ‘performance’ amid monsoon was quite fun.
In the video, which went viral on social media on Tuesday, three employees with the bus station are seen enacting a traditional snake boat race. Many ‘commented’ that it was the best way to highlight the decades-old problem, but the staffers said they did not intend that.
“That’s not what we meant,” said Binil Antony who ‘acted’ in the video along with Eldhose and Suresh Kumar. Binil said following the heavy rain that lashed the city for nearly an hour, water gushed into the bus station’s office building. “We rushed around trying to save the batteries and electronic equipment kept in the office,” said Binil.
“After that, we had a lot of time as no work could be done in the flooded offices. So, to break the monotony of sitting idle in the water-logged office room, we decided to have some fun. Nothing could have been more apt than enacting a boat race,” he said. Binil said waterlogging has been a regular issue at the bus station.
“I have been working at the station since 2011 and not a year passes by without waterlogging,” he added. Services were not affected as the buses picked up and dropped off passengers outside the station. Binil said the waterlogging at the station would continue until and unless the Kochi corporation comes up with solid plans. “The canal near the bus station, which is the main drainage in the area, has not been cleaned. It remains clogged with weeds, debris, plastic and other solid waste,” he said. “Another way is to build a new building. But that won’t happen right now,” he added.