Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Bid to disrupt canal restoration alleged

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Inland Navigation Division of the Department of Water Resources has launched a survey to identify encroachments along the banks of Parvathy Puthanar canal. The survey was taken up as part of a project for the temporary restoration of the polluted canal.

Official sources said encroachments were one of the major reasons for the pollution of the water body. At many locations, houses have been constructed right on the bank and some even jut into the water. Sewage and solid waste from the houses find their way into the canal.

The Rs.3.62-crore restoration project is funded by the Inland Water Authority of India and the State government. The project involves cleaning the canal from Aakulam to Kovalam for a length of 18.045 km. The canal bed along the entire stretch is being dredged to provide a clear draft of 1.75 m from the mean sea level. The eroded sections of the banks are to be fortified with sidewalls and gabions. The canal which forms part of the Kollam-Kovalam State Waterway, will also be widened to 14 metres.

Mechanical dredgers and earthmovers mounted on pontoons have been pressed into service to scoop up the sludge from the canal. The project, however, ran into a barrage of protest from the local people at Poundakadavu, Stationkadavu and Pallithura wards who feel that contractors are make a killing out of unauthorised extraction of sand.

They allege that large quantities of sand are being dredged from the canal to be sold at huge profit.

Last month, Poundukadavu ward councillor Veli Varghese moved a resolution in the Corporation Council calling for a vigilance inquiry into the unauthorised extraction of sand.

Mr. Varghese accused the district administration of turning a blind eye to the issue. “In many places, the dredgers are digging up the bed of the canal up to three feet. The extracted sand is transported to construction sites across the city for a heavy profit, violating the terms of the contract,” he said. Chackai ward councillor S. Ratheendran, however, cautioned that an attempt to crackdown on sand extraction would sabotage the restoration project that was taken up following a long-pending demand from the public.

Officials maintained that the protest over the removal of sand from the canal was triggered by vested interests. “The material dredged from the canal is a mixture of silt, clay and salty fine sand that is unfit for construction purposes. The local residents do not realise that accumulation of the dredged sludge and silt on the banks would lead to a problem for them. It is also likely to flow back into the canal, defeating the whole purpose of the project. Hence, the contractors were asked to dispose of the sludge and silt removed from the water,” a project officer said.

Officials also felt that the resistance to the project was mainly triggered by squatters along the banks. “At many places, unauthorised huts will have to be removed to construct sidewalls. It is this threat that has mobilised the squatters,” an official said.

An artificial canal dating back to the Travancore era, the Parvathy Puthanar was designed 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 Karimadom 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 sand bars prevent the tidal flushing, adding to the concentration of pollutants. Officials said that the tidal flushing would have to be repeated every few years to keep the canal free of silt and to ensure stability of the banks. They said permanent restoration would depend on putting an end to the sewage inflow, coir retting activities and encroachments.

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