Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Urban refuse blocks canal

Insensitive dumping: A mass of solid waste blocking the flow of water in the Amayizhanjan canal at Kannanmoola.

Thiruvananthapuram: A huge mass of discarded plastic bottles and light-weight polystyrene packing material blocked the swollen Amayizhanjan canal at Kannanmoola on Sunday afternoon.

Fearing flooding, residents of the low-lying area partially restored the flow of the canal by removing a small part of the urban refuse.

The canal, which is part of the city’s natural drainage system, has become shallow over the years because of heavy accumulation of sludge. During summer, squatters living on the banks reclaim parts of the canal for farming vegetables and growing feed for livestock. These man made islands often cause the canal to overflow its banks during heavy rains.

The government’s annual exercise of de-silting the canal seems not to have achieved the desired result this year.

A city planner said the pillars of two defunct ‘shutter’ bridges (once used for diverting water to outlying rice fields) restricted the smooth flow of stormwater through the canal.

Local residents said a section of traders; hotels and hospital managements were responsible for the canal’s pollution and clogging.

Corporation officials said they had come across a large quantity of highly toxic medical waste while cleaning up the Amayizhanjan canal last year.

The refuse included surgical gloves, plastic coverings found on medical equipment and syringes. The Corporation said it would identify the polluters and bringing them to book.

Faced with heavy fines and the possibility of legal action for littering public places, many shop, hotel and hospital managements find it easier to dump wastes in large quantities into the canal during night time. The Kannanmoola canal is also polluting the ecologically sensitive Aakulam Lake, which hosts migratory birds and a wide rage of aquatic life.

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