THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hundreds of illegal structures encroaching on the canal and drains were demolished on Sunday as part of Operation Flood - chief secretary Jiji Thomson’s drive to address flooding in Thampanoor and East Fort region.
A team lead by collector Biju Prabhakar also continued razing unauthorised structures obstructing free flow of stormwater at Karimadom Colony for the second day.
According to district administration, the eviction drive will continue for two more weeks. Demolitions were carried out under heavy police cover. They included several residential buildings.
Mr Thomson, who visited the spot, severely criticised the local body for allowing such illegal constructions and warned of strict action against violators.
He said that the focus now was shifted on exposing the age-old canal buried for years under the encroachments.
“Address the issue of flooding is our priority now. We will look into this issue seriously and expose widespread corruption involved in this,” the chief secretary said.
Interestingly, none of the officials of the Minor Irrigation department, its custodian, were aware of the age-old canal and they had no clue on the drain network.
The plan is to widen the canal into 3-metre under the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP). The work is expected to be completed by May 28.
The canal, which incepts at Killipalam – Kuriyathi, runs through Karimadom Colony – Attakulangara Central School and touches Putharikandam maidan before reaching Parvathy Puthanar.
