Indecision regarding the floodwater management system continues even as heavy rain causes flooding in many parts of the city.
Kochi city received 138 mm rain during the last 24 hours. It was in June 2002 and 2006 that the city received heavy rain earlier. In June 2002, the city got 167.6 mm rain. This was 150 mm in 2006.
Following the heavy rain of Saturday, many parts of the city were flooded, which was the worst since 2001. Many parts of the city, where there were no flooding during the past few monsoon seasons, were also inundated as heavy rain lashed the city continuously for hours together. The Stadium Link road, the Kathrikadavu-Thammanam stretch near Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kaloor, Azad Road, Kaloor, Thammanam, Kuthapady and Karanakodam were some of the areas that were hit by flooding.
Pedestrians as well as motorists were finding it difficult to move along the road as flood water rose beyond the expected levels. A large number of vehicles developed technical snags as they were partially submerged in water. The heavy rain and water logging also resulted in traffic snarls in the city. Long queues of vehicles could be seen along most of the city roads during the evening hours. Though the authorities claimed to have cleared the blocks in the drains and de-silted them well ahead of monsoon as part of the monsoon preparedness, it proved to be insufficient.
Flood water remained stagnant in the city roads and drains without flowing into the backwaters.
The delay in making Petti and Para , the indigenous system of pushing the flood water from the city canals into the backwaters using a mechanised device, operational was one of the reasons for the unprecedented flooding, it was alleged.
It was nearly a decade ago that the city had water logging of such an extent, said a senior civic administrator.
Incidentally, the proposal for reinstating the Petti and Para is likely to come up for the consideration of the Kochi corporation council next week.
By the time, the city would have received enough of the fury of the monsoon showers.
It was the reported difference of opinion among the civic administrators about the effectiveness of the system that delayed its installation.
The civic authorities also owe the contractor who operated the system in different parts of the city a considerable amount, pointed out a civic administrator.
The delay in clearing the blocks on MG road area might have also contributed to the water logging in the city.
This time, it was not the Corporation, but a government agency, which took up the responsibility for cleaning the drains and replacing the damaged slabs over drains.
However, the agency could not complete the work on time, he said.
Weather forecast
The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted that the city would receive intermittent showers and thunder showers, which would be heavy at times.
According to the Department, the Southwest monsoon was vigorous over Kerala during past 24 hours. It has also predicted isolated heavy rainfall over, Kerala and Lakshadweep, along with northeastern states, Konkan and Goa, Coastal Karnataka South Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands during next 48 hours.
