Off and on in the news for its appalling condition and
role in either flooding low level areas or aggravating pollution related
problems in the Ooty Lake, the Kodappamund channel, which runs through
the town is once again in focus.

This time things
have started looking up on the channel front. With those at the helm of
affairs in the state municipal administration and pollution control
underscoring the need to maintain the channel properly, the civic
authorities here have put in place a plan of action to clean it.Speaking to
The Hindu
here on Friday, Municipal Commissioner K. Sivakumar said that a mass cleaning campaign has been set in motion.

As
part of it, scores of conservancy workers of the municipality will over
the next few days clean different parts of the channel which extends
from Kodappamund at one end of the town to the Mini Garden at the other
end. Subsequently, weekly maintenance works will be taken up.

To a question, he said that garbage accumulation inside the channel would not be allowed.The
workers will be provided with protective accessories like gloves and
gum boots and they will also be given the necessary tools. Precautions
on the health front will also be taken.

Welcoming the initiative of the municipality, observers hoped that the channel would no longer be a source of concern.

Pointing
out that it had come into being about three decades ago consequent to a
deluge in 1978 which had played havoc and claimed several lives, they
said that its main purpose was to facilitate free flow of storm water
and prevent low-lying areas from getting flooded.

Regrettably for the past several years it was not serving its purpose fully.On the contrary, it had become an eyesore and a health threat.

People were reluctant to walk along the channel and also looked at it warily during heavy rains.Several lakhs of rupees spent over the years on desilting the channel notwithstanding, its condition has not improved.

While
the people are blaming the municipality and other departments for the
sorry state of affairs, officials are attributing its present condition
to lack of resources and poor civic sense among both the local people
and tourists. They said that it was one of the most misused civic
amenities in this hill station.

It has become a
dumping place for all kinds of refuse and at many places it has been
converted into an open air public convenience. The people should help in
keeping it clean, they added.