The Hindu 14.03.2011
Canal planned to drain floodwater from city
Trial digging for the drain will begin soon
Pending work: The flanks of the Sahodaran Ayyappan Road have been left
unattended after the relaying of the stretch. — Photo: H. Vibhu
Trial digging for a major canal for diverting floodwater from the city
will begin shortly. The civic authorities are planning to construct a
major drain from near the Medical Trust Hospital junction through Arun’s
Corner on MG Road to Warriam Road and from there to the Kochi
backwaters for draining the floodwater.
As several underground oil pipelines have been laid in
the area, trial digging will have to be carried out before initiating
the canal work, said Soumini Jain, chairperson, works standing
committee, Kochi Corporation.
This is the shortest route to drain the floodwater from
the city to the Kochi backwaters. The canal could be constructed through
this route without taking much turns and curves. This would ensure
unhindered flow of floodwater through the drain, freeing the city of
water logging to a considerable extent, she said.
As important thoroughfares would have to be cut open for
digging the drain, vehicular movement in the area might be affected
partially, she said.
The laying of tiles on the flanks of the Sahodaran
Ayyappan road would commence after the completion of the drain work. The
road had been re-laid at a width of 7.5 metre each on both sides of the
median leaving the flanks unattended. The construction of the drains on
the flanks of the road could be undertaken after clearing the cables
laid by various service providers in the area. The Kochi Corporation had
been coordinating these for the purpose, Ms. Jain said.
Ms. Jain said that most of the city roads had been
repaired and made motorable using the plan fund of the corporation. The
repair work of almost all major roads was completed and some were in the
final stages. All the works implemented using the plan fund would have
to be completed before March 31, she said.
Chittoor road
The repeated efforts of the Kochi Corporation to take up
the relaying of the Chittoor road failed as there were no takers for
the work. The tender for the Rs.52-lakh work was floated twice but no
one came forward for taking it up. However patchworks were carried out
on the road to make it motorable. Efforts were being taken to get the
work included in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
project. A proposal for relaying the stretch with a five-year guarantee
was also under the consideration, she said.
As the model code of conduct was in force, the initiation of new projects would be possible only after the Assembly election.
The corporation had been focusing for completing the works that were cleared earlier, she said.