KOCHI: The Kochi corporation has finally swung into action to repair the defunct motor pumps and indigenous dewatering mechanism Petti and Para in places that experienced flooding when it rained on Wednesday. However, the cleaning work to clear the clogged drains has not started in many places.
A moderate rain of 62mm for a few hours flooded many city roads on Wednesday. “We asked contractors in all zones to clear the silt in the drains and they started work in the morning itself. The Petti and Para and jetting facilities in the flooded areas have been made operational. Sacks were found dumped in Mullassery Canal and it was cleared in the night itself. We have made arrangements to set up motor pumps at Karikkamuri, Vivekananda Road, Kaloor sub-station and some other places. We are not placing the pumps in all the places that experienced flooding as the water got drained fast in many places. The efficacy of the work carried out on Thursday will be known in the next rain only,” said public works standing committee chairperson Sunitha Dixon.
It has been found that the plastic waste accumulated in drains blocked the smooth flow of water, thereby causing waterlogging. “There is a waste dumping point near Jew Street at Padma Junction. Rats carry the plastic waste to the drain, which leads to clogging. We cleared it on Thursday. On Kalabhavan Road, we placed a motor pump permanently to jet water from the road to Kottecanal. The water will reach the TP Canal finally,” said Ernakulam central division councillor Sudha Dileepkumar. Clogged drains on MG Road will be cleared on Friday. However, in Panampilly Nagar, where residents faced a lot of problems due to waterlogging on many roads and stormwater entering houses, no clearing works on drains were carried out on Thursday other than the work on Petti and Para.
“The corporation has done no clearing works in places where waterlogging was reported on Wednesday. Workers came to repair Petti and para. Only existing drain cleaning works are underway. Unless the deepening of the TP Canal is done, the flooding issue will continue. Since the water level in TP Canal remains high, operating Petti and Para will not solve the issue as water has no way to flow out. Instead it enters the drains,” said Panampilly Nagar councillor Anjana.
