Thiruvananthapuram: Swamped by tons of garbage, polluted by raw sewage and blighted by encroachments, the Parvathy Puthanar canal running through the city is awaiting deliverance from its plight. The Inland Navigation division of the Irrigation department will soon embark on a project for the temporary restoration of the polluted canal.

The Rs.3.62-crore project has been approved by the Inland Water Authority of India. While the Central Government will foot 90 per cent of the project cost, the rest will be borne by the State with funds from the Capital Region Development Programme.

The proposal involves cleaning the canal from Akkulam to Kovalam for a length of 18.045 km. The canal bed along the entire stretch will be desilted and the eroded banks fortified with sidewalls. Temporary piles would be provided from the SM Lock to Moonattumukku to shore up the crumbling banks.

Mechanical dredgers and earthmovers mounted on pontoons are to be used to scoop up the sludge from the canal bed. Officials of the Inland Navigation division said a contractor had been entrusted with the responsibility of disposing the silt and sludge removed from the water. At least one lakh truckloads of silt are expected to be dredged from the canal.

Ravindranath, Assistant Executive Engineer, Irrigation, said the work had been tendered and was expected to start soon. The last time a restoration work was carried out was in 1995.

Artificial canal

An artificial canal dating back to the Travancore era, the Parvathy Puthanar was used for navigation. But over the years, it has become a major source of environment pollution, posing a health hazard for city residents. The discharge of raw sewage into the canal through the Karimadham tank and wastewater from hundreds of houses constitute the major sources of pollution. Large sections are choked by accumulation of solid waste.

The canal opens into the sea at Poonthura and Veli to facilitate natural flushing. But the openings are closed by sand bars, adding to the concentration of the pollutants.

Officials feel the restoration work would have to be repeated every few years to keep the canal free of silt and to ensure stability of the banks. They point out that permanent restoration would involve putting an end to sewage inflow, coir retting activities and encroachments.

A large number of coir retting units are spread over the Kovalam lagoon.

The decayed coconut husks are identified as one of the reasons for the environmental degradation of the canal. Officials admit that it would not possible to put an end to the coir retting activity in view of the job opportunities for the local people. The alternative, according to them, is to introduce dry retting machines.

The City Corporation is awaiting Central Government approval for a Rs.2-crore scheme to procure the machines and supply them to coir societies in the area.

It has also chalked out another project to cut off sewer lines leading directly into the canal and to provide sanitation facilities and septic tanks for the residents on the banks. The project is estimated to cost Rs.2 crores.

Planting of trees

A third project costing Rs.50 lakh involves planting trees along the canal banks to improve the environment. The City Development Plan prepared by the Corporation also proposes the construction of groynes at the two outlets of the canal to restore the natural flushing system.

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