City corporation’s efforts to prevent flooding pay dividends
Usually, during the monsoon, civic
administrators would be deluged with complaints of water logging.
Corporation officials would also have to slog it out to clear floodwater
from the streets. However, this time, rain water was drained into the
backwaters to prevent flooding in the city. Civic administrators believe
its efforts have started yielding results.
During
the last two years, corporation divisions were allotted adequate funds
for constructing drains. The drains built at divisions helped in
clearing flood waters, said Soumini Jain, chairperson of the Works
Standing Committee of the Kochi Corporation.
During the current fiscal, each division was allotted Rs.12 lakh. Last year, each division bagged Rs.10 lakh.
The
extensive clearing of silt and other deposits from the Thevara
Perandoor canal by Kochi Metro Rail Limited last year had also played a
part, she said. The canal was cleaned as part of the preparatory works
of the Kochi Metro Rail project.
However, severe
shortage of rain had failed to test the efficacy of the work. This year,
the canal’s increased carrying capacity had succeeded in clearing
floodwaters, she said.
Meanwhile, opposition councillors pointed out that some areas in the city were still flooded.
“Areas
near the KSRTC bus stand, some reaches of MG Road and Edappally are
inundated,” said K.N. Sunilkumar, CPI(M) leader in the corporation
council. Areas of West Kochi including Konam, Perumpadappu, Thoppumpady,
Valummel, Mattanchery and Kazhuthumuttu too were flooded, he said.
M.
Anilkumar, CPI (M) councillor of the corporation, said the real test
for civic administrators was keeping floodwaters at bay when it rained
incessantly during high tide. Kochi had not experienced intense showers
as yet. If rain activity intensified, many areas would be flooded, he
said.
Mr. Anilkumar said the previous regimes’
efforts to set up a flood management mechanism in the central city area
had started paying dividends.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/monsoon-preparedness-keeps-floodwaters-at-bay/article4820702.ece
