THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : In the wake of incessant rain and recurring flash floods in the capital city, General Education Minister V Sivankutty chaired a high-level meeting with various departments.
Torrential rain has submerged residential areas and all major roads in the capital in the past two days.
After the meeting, the minister announced yet another deadline for the ongoing smart road works in the capital. He said that all roads under construction as part of the Smart City project will be completed by June 15. He also assured a solution to the flooding issue within the next two days.
The minister highlighted that construction work is underway on 10 roads and has directed the authorities concerned to expedite the work and complete it within the deadline. He also instructed the authorities to put up warning boards in areas where road construction is underway and directed various departments involved in the work to ensure coordination and proper planning.
The minister has given a deadline to various departments, including Public Works Department (PWD), Kerala Water Authority (KWA) and Major and Minor Irrigation and the City Corporation to collaborate on a war footing to resolve the flood-related issues by Thursday.
Heavy rainfall that lashed the city in the past three days has caused severe water logging in several areas. In view of heavy rain forecast by IMD in the coming days, the minister has directed the officials to take necessary action after assessing vulnerable areas to address flooding.
The departments involved in flood mitigation activities have been instructed to report to the district collector and the government every day. A decision has also been taken to review the progress of flood mitigation activities every evening. The meeting has also decided to assign deputy collectors in each area to address emergencies promptly and coordinate with the corporation and the government agencies for effective management during monsoon season.
The meeting held at PWD Rest House was attended by Mayor Arya Rajendran, MLAs Kadakampally Surendran, Antony Raju, V K Prasanth, District Collector Geromic George, ADM Premji C and Sub-collector Ashwathy Srinivas.