Call to dismantle bund beneath rail link in Kochi

‘Structure responsible for recurring floods’

Close on the heels of a high-level meeting chaired by Minister for Industries P. Rajeeve deciding on Friday to examine the technical and legal aspects of dismantling a temporary bund built in 2009 as part of constructing the rail link to the Vallarpadam container transshipment terminal, demand is rife that disaster management funds or the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) be released to dismantle the structure which has been causing floods in Kalamassery, Eloor, Aluva, and Mupathadam.

The meeting, which was attended by Cochin Port Trust (CPT) chairperson M. Beena and District Collector Jafar Malik, held that urgent measures should be taken to ensure that water from the Periyar flowed unhindered into the sea, failing which floods would occur.

A study report prepared by the Irrigation Department in June this year had said that the inordinate delay in dismantling the bund and the subsequent accumulation of vast amounts of construction debris were to blame for the areas getting flooded often.