Even as the lull in rainfall since Saturday morning in Ernakulam district lessened water levels in flooded areas, a 100-horse power pump from Aroor was deployed in severely-flooded areas and in Mullassery Canal that overflowed its banks, to pump out water.
The high-power pump was initially deployed at Ambedkar Colony and Judges’ Avenue which were severely inundated. It was then put to use in Mullassery Canal to pump water into the backwaters, said Mayor M. Anilkumar, who visited many of the flood-hit areas on Saturday.
District Collector S. Suhas took initiative in arranging the high-capacity pump from Aroor that he had placed the order for when he was Collector of Alappuzha. It can pump out up to 10 lakh litres of water an hour. Smaller pumps were deployed in many other low-lying areas.
Mr. Anilkumar attributed the surge in water level in the city during the past couple of days to intense rainfall and high tide. He was accompanied by Mr. Suhas, T.J. Vinod, MLA, standing committee chairpersons Sunitha Dixon and P.R. Renish, division councillors, and engineers of the civic body.
The Mayor said a 24-hour control room manned by engineers and health inspectors had been readied to avert flooding, especially in view of the pandemic situation. A total of 279 men, 273 women, and 101 children are in relief camps in the district.
In the meantime, a food distribution initiative of the civic agency was inaugurated by P. Rajeev, MLA-designate. Nanma Foundation, an NGO founded by P. Vijayan, Inspector General of Police, also organised a food distribution programme to provide food to workers from other States and street dwellers at Kadavanthra and Panampilly Nagar and also to deserving people at Udaya Colony and Kammattipadam.
Residents complain
People living in the vicinity of the proposed metro station at Thripunithura sought a revisit of the social-impact-assessment report of the Kochi metro’s Thripunithura extension, for what they termed as unusual flooding of the area that was once a wetland.
Power outage
Power outage was reported in many areas in the morning, as KSEB personnel mended broken power lines and a few posts which got uprooted in Friday’s intense wind and rainfall and trees that fell on the lines.
The water level in reservoirs which was nearing the floodwater level due to heavy downpour since Thursday marginally declined.
Sources in the Fire and Rescue Services Department said a fisherman, Antappan of Kollam, in a country boat was reported missing after it overturned near Goshree bridge on Saturday morning.
Police sources said no major untoward incident following inclement weather was reported in the city and Ernakulam Rural. There is no imminent threat of landslides either in hilly areas, they added.
