The unrelenting rain that lashed the city since the early hours of Friday left many parts flooded with several residents of low-lying areas being stranded.
Over 200 residents on either sides of the Ulloor canal near the Puthenpalam bridge in Kannammoola were marooned in the flood following the heavy downpour.
Nearly 35 families, who were rehabilitated in houses constructed by the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation under the Basic Service for the Poor (BSUP) scheme, had to abandon their dwellings and shift to the safer confines of a relief camp that has been arranged at the office of the Corporation Health Inspector nearby.
With the floodwater rising to alarming heights, some of those affected required the assistance of personnel from the Pettah police station and the Fire and Rescue Services.
Even while being in a state of extreme distress after witnessing several of their belongings being damaged, the affected residents appeared to be resigned to their plight.
“With floods being a common phenomenon in the area, we have got used to the situation. However, is it too much to ask for a permanent solution to the problem,” asked Sindhu Kumari, a resident.
Thiruvananthapuram Corporation town planning standing committee chairman and Kannammoola ward member R. Satheesh Kumar held the lackadaisical attitude of the Minor Irrigation Department to be responsible for the regular floods in the area.
“Despite several reminders, the department has not been able to undertake the de-clogging of the canal since 2008,” he said. According to Vanchiyoor special village officer A. Kumar, the floodwaters that usually drain out through the Amayizhanjan canal was yet to recede with the flow being obstructed due to the ongoing bridge work at Akkulam.
Several other parts of the city including areas along the Muttathara-Kallumoodu road, Poonthi road, Mulavana, Thekkumoodu, Gowreeshapattom, Vazhamuttom, Kamaleswaram and Kanjirampara remained flooded for long periods.
