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Kochi's perennial woe
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One civic problem that plagues Kochi is that of water logging. JOSEPH MAMPILLI finds that the authorities concerned have not yet seriously set their minds on this issue.
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WATER LOGGING is one problem Kochi has not been able to solve. It is only natural that the city folks feel that this issue has not been given great importance by either the Corporation or the government. Even as this city grows, with new developmental projects being drawn up, there is still no talk either at the State or Corporation level of any project to solve this problem. And for the natives of this city, especially those residing in the low-lying areas suffer every time the skies open up.
Since last month, approximately from the time the monsoon began, Nancy's house on T. A. Beerankunju Road, has been flooded every time it rained. "Even a short shower lasting just two minutes can fill our compound with water and filth. My husband has put up a complaint to the Corporation Secretary along with a photograph of the water and filth around our house," says Nancy.
Call up the authorities and they usually evade this issue with the often heard excuse that this happens to be the nature of all low lying areas or that it is a characteristic feature of such places during the monsoon, the residents complain. "If they had taken measures at the right time, like removing the slush and garbage from the gutters, this problem could have been controlled to a great extent," feels V. M. Menon, secretary, St. Benedict Road Residents Association, another area in the city where a short rain can throw the lives of the people out of gear. The slush is not removed before the onset of monsoon, nor do they implement measures to remove the garbage that isheaped at the roadsides.
These sufferings could have been limited effectively if only the Corporation had taken sincere efforts and given health and hygiene its due importance. This then would not only benefit the local public but also hand out a message that Kerala is an ideal tourist spot.
In this context it is necessary to throw light on two important facts that would pay back if attended to with the genuine spirit. The gutters on many roads in the city are narrow and shallow. But the human habitats, at the same time, have been growing many times. As the planners are habitually not able to see the growth a particular area would achieve in a given time span, the public utilities provided by them also begin to under-perform. Soon these old age gutters begin to overflow and the slush flows into the house compounds. "It is very sad that all the technological information and the wealth of modern times do not touch the planners to think in terms of a revival of what has been given to the public in the name of `public utilities' and `amenities' years ago," says a legal practitioner who has filed a writ petition against the Corporation on the sufferings the residents of St.Vincent Road have been going through because of an improper drainage system.
"Slush removal from the gutters is the only thing we can do and that would be taken up immediately," says C. E. Basheer, Secretary of the Corporation. For a permanent solution like widening of the gutters or rectifying the damage caused to it, he adds that he would have to ask the Chief Engineer of the Corporation to conduct an enquiry before deciding on what could be done in specific areas from where complaints have been filed.
Numerous multi-storied residential buildings have been coming up of late. It undoubtedly raises questions about the steps that have been taken by the builders to improve the hygiene of the premises that includes waste disposal. The Corporation should enforce a law forcing multi-storied buildings and apartments to have self-contained waste disposals, which would largely improve the situation, feel city residents.
Encroachments into public properties and filling utility canals also add to the problem. Very often the authorities concerned are oblivious of such encroachments or sometimes, even turn a blind eye to them. A canal, which in Ernakulam North that used to flow into the Kottey Canal, was one fine day termed private and taken possession of, say residents of the area.The Corporation authorities have not taken any action, despite persistent requests and petitions, they allege.
These are not isolated incidents. Similar issues take place at many places within the Corporation area. The urban population of Kochi would not dare to compare the facilities provided to the public in the United States of America or Japan but would at least expect basic facilities. Haphazard expansion in the name of promoting industry also need to be curbed, suggest several residents associations.
Photo by Vipinchandran
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