With various stakeholder agencies working in different directions, the district administration has stepped in to ensure the coordinated implementation of city improvement schemes.
The administration has offered to convene a meeting of as many as seven agencies this week to coordinate flood-control measures, said P.M. Harris, chairman of the works standing committee of the Kochi Corporation.
The representatives of Kochi Metro Rail Limited, Kerala Water Authority, Kochi Corporation, Irrigation Department, Greater Cochin Development Authority, Public Works Department, and the Southern Railway are expected to attend the meeting, he added.
According to Mr. Harris, the summer rain that the city received last week exposed the vulnerability of several areas to waterlogging. With many drains getting clogged and some cut off from major canals running through the city, many areas which were hitherto free of flooding experienced waterlogging. Large pools of rain water were formed in some parts of Deshabhimani area near Kaloor and the road stretch between Palarivattom and Edappally as the there was no inlet from some roads into the drains, he said.
While laying precast concrete drains in the said areas as part of road improvement schemes, the connectivity of a few drains from interior roads that flow into the man drain was lost. This resulted in waterlogging.
The issue was raised at a meeting convened by the District Collector last week, he said.
Mr. Harris felt that a coordinated effort among stakeholders would save the city from waterlogging.
Though the general impression is that the Kochi Corporation is solely responsible for clearing waterlogging, stakeholders have a role to play in preventing waterlogging in the city, he said.
The Southern Railway is responsible for clearing pipe culverts that run through the South Railway station premises.
The clogging of culverts in the region will result in flooding in the Ernakulam South region. Some major city drains run through the holdings of the Greater Cochin Development Authority. The timely and coordinated clearing of canals and drains is essential to keep the city free of floodwater, he said.
On its part, the corporation is in the process of floating tender for cleaning drains and hope to complete the work by May and well ahead of the annual southwest monsoon season, he said.
Though the general impression is that the corporation is responsible for clearing waterlogging, stakeholders have a role to play in preventing itP.M. Harris
Chairman,
Works standing committee
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