Summer showers are already making their presence felt, giving a hint of the monsoon ahead. It is a matter of concern that the capital city continues to remain vulnerable to flooding due to delays in the launch of crucial pre-monsoon sanitation drives by various agencies.
Recent heavy summer showers have inundated many low-lying areas, including the infamous Thampanoor and East Fort, exposing how susceptible the capital is to flooding.
The city has over 1,500 stormwater drains, canals, and river stretches that need to be unclogged and cleaned ahead of the monsoon.
Despite the looming threat, various agencies including the Public Works Department (PWD), Irrigation Department, Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB), and Inland Navigation Department are yet to commence the work. It needs to be emphasised here that timely implementation of cleaning drives is crucial to mitigate flooding.
Here is a prime example. Parvathy Puthanar, an 18.5km canal network stretching from Kovalam to Akkulam, remains clogged and polluted owing to waste dumping. The Coastal Shipping and Inland Navigation Department – the custodian of the canal – seems to have no plan to clean up the canal stretch ahead of the monsoon.
An official of the Inland Navigation Department said that the previous year, the cleaning drive was carried out utilising funds allotted by the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).
“We haven’t set aside any funds for the cleaning, and last year Rs 50 lakh was allotted by DDMA and we conducted the cleaning drive. If the DDMA releases funds, we will undertake the de-silting and cleaning activities,” says the official.
Vallakadavu ward councillor Shajida Nazar stresses on the urgency of the matter.
“Ward-level pre-monsoon sanitation drive has been launched and the work is ongoing. The canal running through our ward should be cleaned up by the inland navigation department,” she says.
“We have raised this issue with the mayor. Once it rains and they open the breakwater, the entire filth from Thiruvallam side will overflow, polluting our ward.”
Heavy rainfall has become a serious threat to the capital. In the past couple of years, the city has witnessed major flooding in residential areas such as Pattom, Ulloor, Thekkumoodu, Kannamoola, Gowreesapattom, Parottukonam, Thattinakam, Pongumood, Sreekaryam, Murinjapalam, Peroorkada, Choozhampala, Kunnukuzhy, Paruthapara, and Muttada.
Though the corporation has set aside Rs 70 lakh for procuring equipment for flood mitigation, according to officials, the purchase can be made only after July. “We need the approvals for the project and we will not be able to purchase the equipment before the monsoon,” says an official of the civic body.
Meanwhile, a Rs 200-crore urban flood mitigation project funded by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is in the pipeline. It is learnt that the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) has submitted the proposal to the NDMA.
“The NDMA has recommended some revisions and KSDMA will be submitting it again,” says a corporation official.
Corporation shifts blame
The corporation has earmarked `1.25 lakh for each of the 100 wards for conducting pre-monsoon sanitation drives. There are around 985 stormwater drains in the capital managed by the civic body.
An official of the civic body’s health wing notes that 85 to 90 percent of this work has been completed, and blamed other departments for not launching the work simultaneously.
“The entire drainage networks are interlinked and the cleaning should be launched at the same time for good results,” the official adds.
“We have almost completed the cleaning activities but other departments are yet to launch de-silting and other pre-monsoon activities.”
PWD yet get moving
The PWD, custodian of around 160km of stormwater drains, is yet to start the pre-monsoon sanitation drive. Notably, the department has set aside only `25 lakh to clean up around 300 drains under its jurisdiction.
A PWD official says tenders are being floated for the pre-monsoon work. “We will not be able to clean up the entire stormwater network due to paucity of funds,” the official says.
“So we have decided to focus on areas prone to flooding and are hoping to launch the work by mid-April. Cleaning up the drainage system requires more funds.”
Irrigation department
The irrigation department – under which fall all major canal networks and rivers passing through the capital – has also not started its sanitation drive. Overflowing canals are the main cause of flash floods in the city.
Amayizhanchan, Ulloor, Pattom, and Kariyil are among the major canals managed by the irrigation department.
An official says the department is yet to finalise the estimates for the pre-monsoon sanitation drive. “Desilting and unclogging are the major monsoon-related works. We are yet to get the allotment from the DDMA and we can prepare the estimates only after knowing the allotment,” says the official.
