Kochi: The city corporation will soon begin the annual pre-monsoon cleaning works and this year, the canal cleaning works will be carried out under the technical guidance of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation principal advisor E. Sreedhran and the NGO - Foundation for Restoration of National Values – headed by him. Mayor Soumini Jain has accepted the offer of E Sreedharan to clean up the Mullassery Canal.
A letter has been sent to the Metro Man. De-silting of Mullassery Canal will help to prevent water logging in central city areas. The civic administration had earlier urged E Sreedharan to prepare a technical report for flood prevention and management exclusively for the central city areas. The engineering wing of the Corporation has provided a water logging chart of the city with necessary details based on which E. Sreedharan has prepared a technical report.
The civic body had earlier decided to remove Petti and Para, the traditional flood management system erected in canals as it was found to be ineffective. In the annual budget for 2018-19, deputy Mayor T.J Vinod announced that Petti and Para would be replaced with a more scientific modern system.
The NGO, Foundation for Restoration of National Values, will set up an effective flood management system using its CSR funding. Though the civic body has been spending huge amounts every year to resolve flooding in the city, the issue of water logging remains unresolved.Since different government agencies share the ownership of arterial roads, water logging can be tackled only if all of the departments work together.
