One night’s rain on Thursday was enough for the water level in the Ulloor and Pattom canals to rise to the brim and breach the banks at several points by the next morning. Water seeped into the adjacent roads and into some of the houses that line the canal.
Although the Major Irrigation Department had removed all the obstructions in the canals as part of the city Corporation’s project ahead of the monsoons this year, the canal still does not have the capacity to hold all the water during heavy rains. The absence of even a low side wall in many places makes matters worse.
Decrease in depth
According to Pattom ward councillor Remya Ramesh, the issue cannot be solved until the depth of the canal is increased by removing all the silt that has accumulated over the years.
“As usual, water entered our home near Murinjapalam last night as the rain intensified. The removal of obstructions that get collected near the bridges or at the narrow regions of the canal alone cannot solve this problem. With silt and waste getting collected on the floor, the depth of the canal has reduced considerably over time. Also, in some places, residents carry out plantain cultivation in areas where sand has collected and formed small land portions by the side of the canal. This also constricts the flow,” she says.
Mayor K. Sreekumar says that the Corporation’s projects for the improvement of the canals in the city are progressing.
“Water flowed smoothly through the main Amayizhanjan canal without overflowing in any places owing to all the work that the Corporation carried out recently. The work on the Ulloor-Pattom canal will be taken up soon too. Overflowing happens also because of the high-intensity rains that we are getting these days. Even in the Ulloor canal, the water receded as soon as the rains seized,” says Mr. Sreekumar.
A major project for the construction of side walls along the Ulloor canal and for desilting, at a cost of ₹9 crore, has been in the works for some time. Another similar project for the area from Kannammoola to Akkulam at a cost of ₹25 crore is also about to take off.
