West Kochi was pounded by heavy rain that lasted for more than one-and-a-half hours on Saturday, leaving low-lying areas severely inundated and residents wondering about the recurrent nightmare visiting them since the last week of May.
The sky opened up around 7.45 a.m. and lasted till after 9 a.m. Koovapadam, Municipal Town Hall Road, Mundamveli, South and North Moolamkuzhy, Kazhuthumuttu, Parippu Junction, Thoppumpady Post Office Junction, Chullickal, and almost all by-lanes in West Kochi were flooded. In many places, it was hours before the water drained out even after the rain stopped.
There was just a slight drizzle when Haneesh K.H. left his home at Fort Kochi Veli on a motorcycle to play cricket in a turf at Palachuvadu around 6.30 a.m. By the time he returned three hours later, the roads he had taken were under water. “Climate change has become a convenient ruse for the Kochi Corporation to hide its ineptitude as it is blamed for bad roads and flooding. Climate was favourable for cleaning up drains and canals, which it did not do. In the name of beautification, drains are unscientifically designed hampering proper access for cleaning,” he fumed.
Sumeeth Joseph, general secretary, Congress block committee, Kochi South, said two-wheelers stuttering to a stop on wading through knee-high water has become a common sight in West Kochi.
Antony Kureethara, Opposition leader in the corporation council and Fort Kochi councillor, warned that West Kochi was staring at a potential disaster this monsoon unless drains, canals, and discharge pipes to the backwaters and canals were cleaned and cleared of blocks in a week. “We have been demanding a master plan for the drainage network in Kochi for long. Now, as things stand, Kochi Metro Rail Limited, the Kochi Corporation, PWD, and Cochin Smart Mission Limited lay drains with no one having a clue about their alignment or where they are being directed,” he said.
Shaila Thadhevoose, councillor of Moolamkuzhy division, said her heart rate raced every time sky turned overcast, and that she was fast running out of excuses every time houses got flooded. “Unless canal mouths discharging water into the backwaters are cleaned, Kochi will be submerged this monsoon. Even when canals are full to the brim, the water level has not risen in the backwaters because of these clogged canal mouths,” she said.
Published - June 01, 2024 08:36 pm IST
