KOCHI: The IT hub of Infopark was among the worst affected in Tuesday’s cloudburst as the campus and the roads leading to it were inundated. The day marked the second instance of severe waterlogging at the IT hub, after heavy rain hit the city last Wednesday.
The Infopark officials attributed the repeated flooding to the irrigation department’s failure to clean the Kadambrayar river regularly. They had earlier alerted the district collector about a bund in the Kadambrayar, which was subsequently removed. Despite that, the situation has not improved.
Infopark CEO Susanth Kurunthil said hindrances remain in the smooth drainage of rainwater from the Infopark and Kakkanad areas to the Kadambrayar.
“Tuesday’s flooding was primarily due to the cloudburst, combined with the river’s limited flow. Although the bund was removed, siltation and debris hindered the river’s flow, disrupting stormwater drainage and causing floods in the IT park. The irrigation department is responsible for removing silt and aquatic weeds, which they failed to do this time,” Kurunthil said.
He also said the drains and other channels for the flow of rainwater from Infopark to the water body had been cleared before the monsoon.
“As a result, the stormwater receded within an hour once it stopped raining,” he said.
Meanwhile, an official with the irrigation department admitted the work on removing silt and debris from the Kadambrayar was not carried out this time.
“After the bund was removed, the aquatic weed and silt swept in, affecting the river flow. Though the department had awarded the tender to a contractor, the work was not carried out due to various reasons,” the official said.
The flooding also caused traffic chaos, leaving many employees stranded. “While the floodwaters receded quickly, traffic jams persisted for hours, causing significant delays and impacting work hours,” said Anish Pandalani of Progressive Techies, an IT employees’ welfare organisation.
Some techies also reported spotting snakes on the waterlogged campus.