As many as 25 earthmovers and 40 tipper lorries have been deployed on the course of the Pampa in the foothills of Sabarimala to expedite the removal of sand deposits accumulated on the riverbed and surroundings in the wake of the deluge in 2018.
The devastating deluge had depositioned an estimated 1.3 lakh cubic metres of sand at Pampa alone.
Accumulation of sand in thickness of 10 to 12 metres on the riverbed had even changed the course of the Kakki river that joins the Pampa at Pampa-Triveni in the post-deluge scenario.
However, the Irrigation Department, assisted by the Works Department of the Travancore Devaswom Board, restored the river to its original course clearing a huge quantum of sand from Triveni.
Pampa has been a base camp for Sabarimala pilgrims and the government as well as the TDB had taken a series of initiatives to set things right in the flood-ravaged area.
DDMA mission
The District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), chaired by District Collector P.B.Noohu, launched the sand removal work on June 4 to prevent floods similar to that of 2018 during the monsoon.
Thiruvalla Subcollector Vinay Goyal is heading a DDMA task force to expedite the work. Dr. Goyal told The Hindu that the work was progressing fast at Pampa as the monsoon was yet to pick up in the area.
The DDMA was directly undertaking the work, using the State Disaster Response Fund. The decision was against the backdrop of the heavy monsoon forecast made by the Meteorology Department of India.
Dr. Goyal said the Irrigation Department had assessed the quantum of sand accumulated along the 2.23-km river stretch between Valiyanavattom and Pampa-Triveni at 1.23 lakh cubic metres.
He said 34,919 cubic metres (8,034 truck loads) of sand had already been removed from the river course as on Thursday afternoon.
A team of experts attached to the National Centre for Earth Science Studies has found the sand as construction grade.
The sand scooped from the Pampa is being dumped on forestland at Chakkupalam, near the KSRTC bus depot, at Pampa.
Dr. Goyal said the DDMA was hopeful of completing the task in the next 10 days, if the monsoon did not play spoilsport.
