Kozhikode: The people living near Canoli canal are worried over the Rs 1,100-crore development project which is on the anvil. According to an RTI response, the irrigation department has estimated that about 530 residents and 110 shops would be evicted for the 14-metre widening of the canal which can be done only by dismantling the houses of the common people. But the department is silent about the project and the rehabilitation aspects. Ayisha, a resident of Karaparamba, told DC that they were not opposed to development.
“But, we cannot abandon the place where we have been living for generations,” she said and added that the authority should clean the canal first. Though the irrigation department had submitted the proposal long ago, the people came to know of it after it was notified in the gazette on September 6, 2016. The residents on the banks of the canal have floated ‘Theerajana Samrakshana Samithi,’ a forum of 15 residents’ associations, and submitted memorandums to the chief minister and other ministers. “The irrigation department has prepared the DPR on a false ground that the project is financially viable,” pointed out Shamsudheen Kuniyil, a resident of Karaparamba.
Residents say that less than Rs 2 crore would be sufficient to clean up the canal.
"The authorities aim at converting the canal into a national waterway for easy shipping. But, Arabian sea is only two km off and it could be used for the same purpose,” said Janardhanan, a resident. Besides, the project would sound the death knell of the mangrove forests in the area. Irrigation department assistant executive engineer Varghese Mani told DC that the project was yet to be evolved. “The project is at its infant stage only. It will be implemented only with the consent of all stakeholders concerned, including the local residents," he said.
