Kochi Corporation, Railways to join hands to clean culverts and canals

Kochi Corporation and Railways collaborate to clean canals, prevent flooding; Mayor emphasizes need for public cooperation in waste disposal.

The Kochi Corporation hopes to work in tandem with the Railways in cleaning canals and culverts that pass through railway areas and averting flooding in the city.

The civic authorities and railway officials will meet here shortly to sort out the issue of cleaning canals that run through railway holdings. The two agencies had been working together for the cause earlier, said Mayor M. Anilkumar.

The decision attains significance in the wake of the death of a sanitation worker who had ventured into the railway canal at Amayizhanjan Thodu in Thiruvananthapuram the other day.

A large number of culverts and canals of the Railways criss-cross the city, and most of them are filled with garbage. The canals need to be cleaned regularly as part of flood mitigation works undertaken by the civic body, he said.

It was in 2021 that the main culverts in railway holdings were cleaned up in a big way. Interventions by the Kerala High Court too had helped the process. The district administration also played a major role in the drive by bringing together various agencies and coordinating the work. However, the drive could not be repeated in 2022. Later, when an official from the Indian Railway Service joined the Kochi Corporation as its Secretary, the efforts gathered momentum, and a cleaning drive was held in 2023. However, such an exercise was not held this year, said Mr. Anilkumar.

Despite the best efforts of the authorities, said Mr. Anilkumar, dumping of waste in city canals and drains had gone unabated. Canals would be flooded with garbage within days of cleaning them. Dumping of waste leads to clogging of canals and contributes much to urban flooding. Only a change in the attitude of the public could save the situation and free the city of flooding, the Mayor said.