Waste dumping is hampering the work on the renovation of the Andhakarathodu, a major canal passing through Thripunithura.
Even as the canal is being cleared of waste from the Konothupuzha side it is getting dumped with garbage from the other side. “We do not know how to address this issue,” said an assistant executive engineer with the Minor Irrigation Department, who is overseeing the work.
Officials of the Minor Irrigation are thinking about giving a notice to the Thripunithura municipal secretary.
ADVERTISEMENT
The ₹8.5-crore work taken up by the Kerala Irrigation Infrastructure Development Corporation is being supervised by the Minor Irrigation division.
Andhakarathodu, which was a major waterway and the main route for trade in the town in the olden times, had fallen prey to wild growth, waste dumping and encroachments over the years.
The renovation work on the 2.5 kilometre-long canal that cuts across Thripunithura town from Konothpuzha in the east to the Poorna River in the west needed approvals from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board at various stages of the work, said the engineer.
ADVERTISEMENT
Approvals were granted subject to certain modifications. Revised estimates for the work had been submitted, he said.
The canal is clogged with waste at both the ends. “We have to stop the flow of the canal to do certain works,” he said.
The encroachments on the sides of the canal should be cleared. Over the years, people had built boundaries on the revenue land alongside the canal.
The work has to be completed by February 2020. The officials believe the work would pick up momentum once the issues are cleared.