KOCHI: With parts of Kochi city once again getting waterlogged due to the heavy rains over the past few days, the high court has come out strongly against the corporation and the district administration.
The court has asked for separate reports from the district collector and the corporation. In the report, both the authorities will have to individually give details on locations where the waterlogging problem has arisen despite carrying out measures under Operation Breakthrough, the cause for it and what needs to be done to address it.
The amicus curiae submitted a report on the waterlogging reported in Kochi on Friday and Saturday to the court and pointed out three key reasons for the recurring issue: Dumping of waste into the drains by public as well as hotels which do not have STPs, shortage of inlets to the drains and the inadequate size of the existing ones.
The report pointed out that waterlogging occurred in 13 places in the Kochi corporation area on Friday.
Low-lying regions, including the area near Edapally toll, M G Road, Vytilla and Jose Junction witnessed waterlogging in the afternoon during high tide on Saturday.
With the drains overflowing, stormwater entered the shops in these areas for the second consecutive day but after some time the water receded.
Since the KSRTC bus stand remained inundated, passengers and staff had a tough time entering the building. Passengers were forced to wade through the dirty water to board buses. Stagnant pools of water formed on the roads in several places as there were no inlets to let the
rainwater to the drains. The heavy rains triggered severe traffic jams in the Edappally area.
The district disaster management authority has opened a relief camp in Kakkanad and lodged 13 people from four families in Keereli Mala where the threat of mud slip looms large due to the incessant rain.
A tiled roof house in Mulavukadu got damaged completely in the rains. A lottery vendor in Muvattupuzha suffered injuries after part of the compound wall of the Government Town School collapsed over him.
Ernakulam collector NSK Umesh has convened a meeting of revenue officials to assess the situation in the wake of the incessant rain. Muvattupuzha municipality authorities informed at the meeting that steps have been taken to prevent people from further using the byroad adjacent to the wall. The local body will reconstruct the damaged wall. Tahsildars have been asked to ready relief camps to meet any emergency.
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