KOCHI: The heavy downpour that lashed the city continuously from Saturday night to early morning on Sunday inundated low-lying areas destroying property and causing misery to the residents of many residential colonies.
Kalamassery, Karekamurry, South Railway station, P&T Colony, and Udaya Colony were some of the worst-affected areas by the heavy rains. The district administration shifted many people to temporary relief camps which were disbanded by Sunday afternoon when the water receded.
Kalabhavan, prominent art and music institute in the city, located behind Ernakulam Town Hall, witnessed water entering some of its rooms on the ground floor where musical instruments were kept, damaging some keyboards and guitars there.
K S Prasad, secretary of Kalabhavan said a lot of musical instruments were damaged. "The initial estimate puts the total loss at several lakhs. The instruments that have been destroyed are keyboards, guitars, and percussion instruments. All these musical instruments run on electricity and we think the circuit boards might have got damaged after getting drenched in water," he said.
Further, he added that till 11 am in on Sunday, the rooms on the ground floor of Kalabhavan were submerged under one foot of water. The actual losses can be estimated only in the coming days after checking out all the instruments.
"This is a phenomenon every year. However, this time around the rain caught us unawares. We never expected to have such a copious amount of rain in the middle of May!" Prasad said.
But the situation is not unfamiliar for the residents or shopkeepers in Ernakulam North circle, Kalamassery, KSRTC, Karekamurry, South Railway station, P&T Colony, and Udaya Colony, where every year rains inundated these areas.
"The authorities need to take steps to solve the problem," said Sherin C A, a mother of two who lives at V K Thakkappan Road at Kalamassery with her ailing mother.
"We have been living in this residential area for the past 36 years. But the problem of waterlogging grew in recent years. Earlier, the problem never used to be this big. But now, the situation has become unbearable," she said. I'm afraid of the time when the monsoon sets in."
Sherin said all the water from the nearby areas flows down to our colony where more than 12 families live. "Why should we be the ones to bear the dirt and filth of others?" she asked. Sherin is a widow who ekes out a living by running a chicken shop, which too got inundated. "I stood vigil from 3 am on Sunday. The water kept coming in."
Fearing the worst, she called the District Collector Jaffar Malik. "He assured us that a fire and rescue team will be dispatched soon. But nobody came until after 11 am. What would have happened if my mother who is a heart patient got ill in the meantime? Who would come to our aid?" she asked.
Rajesh G, a resident of Vidya Nagar at South Kalamassery said residential areas across South Kalamassery, including Vidya Nagar, Alfiya Nagar, Arafa Nagar, Pottachal Nagar, Kalamassery Town Hall Nagar, Kummenchery Nagar and Manathupadam Nagar were inundated in the overnight rains. "This is due to the decreasing width and depth of the Pottachal Canal," he said.
"I have been living in Vidya Nagar for the past 25 years. However, the problem of inundation began around four to five years ago. This happened after water from different canals in Kalamassery and nearby areas got directed to the Pottachal canal. The canal on the side of Thrikkakara temple is also connected to this one and the water empties into the Edappally canal," he said.
Rajesh said usually rainwater takes 30-45 minutes to recede from the area. Now it takes 7-8 hours. "Two factors aided waterlogging. One was the reduction in the width of the Pottachal canal and the other was the fact that no cleaning drive was initiated to clear the silt, dirt, and debris that had clogged a large part of the canal," he added.
Relief camps opened
Ernakulam District Collector Jafar Malik said some areas from where waterlogging was reported are KSRTC stand, Karekamurry, South Railway Station, and P&T colony. "Generally, these areas get flooded when rain continues for a long time. Fire force personnel, those from the Irrigation Department and Kochi Corporation teams have been on the field since Sunday morning. Two camps one in Kendriya Vidyalaya and one in Thrikkakara North were opened," he said.
After rains kept away since Sunday morning the camps may be shut by evening, Malik said.
As to the cleaning drive, the collector said the administration was doing its best. "We will check with the Corporation and Municipalities if any areas were missed," Malik said.
In the case of the cleaning drive at Kalamassery, the administration has sought a reply from the Municipal chairperson regarding the delay. "I have asked them to initiate the cleaning drive tomorrow itself. They will finish in five days," he said.