Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Rain inundates many parts of city

Staff Reporter

Twenty-two relief camps opened; 475 families shifted

SEEKING HELP: Rajiv Nagar, near Shanghumughom, which was inundated in the heavy rain in the city on Sunday. — Photo: S. Mahinsha

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The heavy rain that drenched Thiruvananthapuram district on Sunday caused flooding in many areas and sent the district administration scrambling to get relief activities going.

By evening, 22 relief camps had been opened — 14, in Thiruvananthapuram taluk alone — and 475 families shifted there.

While Manoj, 28, was reported missing from Mamom in Chirayinkeezhu taluk, Sundaran, a resident of Kannammoola, was reported missing after he jumped into the Kannammoola canal in the evening to retrieve a box that came floating by.

In the past two days, 32 houses were destroyed in the rain while 612 were damaged. On Sunday, 17 houses were destroyed in the district and 527 damaged. In Chirayinkeezhu taluk, five houses were destroyed while 171 were damaged. In Neyyattinkara taluk the figures were five and 23 respectively while in Nedmangad taluk it was two and 23 respectively. In Thiruvananthapuram taluk, five houses were destroyed and 210 damaged by floodwaters.

At Puthen palam, Kannammoola, residents of the bund colony blocked the road on Sunday morning demanding that the authorities find a permanent solution to the flooding problem in the area. Local people told officials of the district administration that though a couple of acres of land had been identified for the rehabilitation of the people in the colony nothing had been done so far.

The people dispersed only after Additional District Magistrate S. Ravindran assured them that a special meeting would be convened at the Collectorate in a week's time to discuss their housing problems.

Flooding was particularly severe in such areas as Karikkakom, Rajiv Nagar near the airport, Bala Nagar near All Saints College, Valia veli and Kalpana Colony at Kadinamkulam. The Killi river was in spate on Sunday inundating areas on the banks.

At Jagathy, floodwaters entered houses by the side of the Kochar road while many houses on both sides of the Killippalam-Jagathy road were inundated by afternoon.

The Fire and Rescue Service personnel rushed pumps to many locations in the city to flush out the storm waters. These areas included Manacaud, Kamaleswaram, Gowreesapattom, Kumarapuram and Chakka.

Task forces set up

At an emergency meeting chaired by Minister for Law M. Viijayakumar at the Collectorate on Sunday evening, five task force committees were set up to restore blocked drainage channels in different parts of the city.

Each of the committees chaired by a Deputy Collector has been authorised to identify and remove all obstructions, including unauthorised constructions blocking drainage channels.

At the meeting, Mayor C. Jayan Babu and MLA V. Sivankuty pointed out that in various places slabs, walls, car sheds and staircases had been constructed over drainage channels.

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