emaining encroachments on the banks of the Kollam Canal from Kochupilammoodu to Kondayyathu were cleared during a two-day operation that began on Saturday. The eviction drive met with strong resistance from the encroachers who had been living there for years. However, the drive was completed using earth movers in the presence of a strong police team.
The government had provided alternative accommodation for the encroachers under the Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme. Though the accommodation had been ready for long, the residents had been refusing to accept it.
Glorious past
The 7.7-km Kollam Canal had encroachments on its banks through a good portion of its course through Kollam city. In the past, the canal was a major travel route for people and freight especially on the Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram sector. It was constructed in 1880 during the reign of Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma of the erstwhile Travancore.
The canal linked Paravur Lake with Ashtamudi Lake as part of the Vallakadavu(in Thiruvananthapuram)-Shoranur waterway. With the development of road transport, the canal was neglected and its banks encroached upon.
Waterway project
The canal soon became a trash dump and got choked rendering it unfit for navigation. But 10 years ago, it was declared part of the 78-km Kovalam-Kollam State Waterway with potential for becoming an extension of the Kollam-Kottapuram National Waterway-3.
It was this possibility that made the State government come out with a plan to revive the canal, and the revival programme was launched in 2008. Clearing of the encroachments began in October, 2010 with the launch of a rehabilitation programme for the encroachers.
Under this programme, 768 apartments were constructed at Pukkulam, Thanni, Karkuzhi, Kuttikad, and Attukal Puthuval in Mayyanad.
While a majority of the encroachers agreed to shift, some decided to stay put. They were forcibly evicted in phases and the final batch during the past two days. When revived, the canal would have tremendous tourism potential. The government has plans to beautify the banks of the canal.
