Deputy Commissioner V. Ponnuraj has blamed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and some private parties for the flooding of the northern side of the National Highway at Kannur.
In a statement issued here late on Thursday, Mr. Ponnuraj said that the NHAI had blocked a culvert, leading to flooding. The Project Director, NHAI, had been given time till Thursday evening, and had been warned that a portion of the highway would be cut to drain the water.
At the same time, he said a nearby storm-water drain leading to the Netravati should be 30 feet wide as per records. However, private parties had formed roads and built compound walls, as a result of which the drain did not exist now.
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A surveyor had been asked to identify and fix the boundary and the Assistant Commissioner, Mangalore, and Assistant Executive Engineer, Mangalore City Corporation, had been asked to demolish the compound walls and structures to revive the drain. The Revenue Inspector had already lodged a police complaint against the owners of Chiravith Precision (India) Ltd. for encroaching upon the drain, he said.
Near Bairadikere, between Kannur and Padil, he said, the unscientific culvert extension by the NHAI had blocked the water flow from the hillock on the northern side. The storm-water from Kulshekar and Maroli also drain off in huge quantity through this drain and thus a small vent provided by the NHAI was not enough, leading to water stagnation.
Hence, the culvert's extended portion was cut open to facilitate free flow of water. Already, this flooding had resulted in water entering eight houses and NHAI had been instructed to redesign the culvert, Mr. Ponnuraj said.
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Clarification
NHAI Project Director P.N. Gawasane told The Hindu that the statement issued by Mr. Ponnuraj was not factually correct. The NHAI was in no way responsible for flooding of the areas and all culverts had been built scientifically.