Minister for Irrigation Mathew T. Thomas has instructed officials of the Department of Irrigation to take steps to evict encroachers of land owned by the department. He was speaking at the inauguration of the new office of the Ground Water Department at Kakkanad on Monday.
It was P.T. Thomas, MLA, who brought the issue of encroachments to the notice of the Minister. He also raised matters, including the poor condition of Pipeline Road, encroachment on the Edappally canal, and exploitation of ground water.
The Minister reminded that if water passages were blocked, there would be serious consequences. The recent floods were a grim reminder of the consequences of blocking and encroachment on water passages. The gains from encroachments are temporary, he said even as he called for the regeneration and protection of waterbodies and canals. The Minister said people must come together for the protection of waterbodies.
Mr. Mathew T. Thomas said the Ground Water Department must adopt measures to allow rainwater to sink into earth. There has been serious shortage of water following the floods. Rainwater usually flows straight into the sea. A calculation of the level of ground water and the quantum of water sinking into earth will help combat drought conditions in the future, he added.
The Minister also asked the department to keep a check on the exploitation of ground water.
The new office complex has been established as part of the National Hydrology project. A regional data processing centre and water testing lab are part of the complex, said a press release. The new office was built using ₹3 crore granted by the World Bank and ₹1.25 crore provided by the State government. The Minister also inaugurated the FaceBook page of the department.
P.T. Thomas, MLA, presided over the function, and K.V. Thomas, MP, delivered the keynote address.
