Mayor for reviving dewatering method in Kochi

‘It will go a long way in dealing with city’s waterlogging issues’

The ‘petti’ and ‘para’ system to drain water from canals, which had been dismantled, will have to be revived to deal with the city’s waterlogging issues, according to Mayor M. Anilkumar. High tide accompanied by heavy rainfall causes flooding of the Perandoor canal and the drains associated with it, which is responsible for waterlogging in several areas, he said. The Perandoor canal traverses through Panampilly Nagar before emptying into the backwaters at Thevara. This could explain the recurrent flooding in the Panampilly Nagar area, Mr. Anilkumar said. He pointed out two solutions to waterlogging in the city — one is to complete projects suggested by Esteem Developers in a report prepared years ago, and the other is to revive the petti and para system. The petti and para system, that had been dismantled in most places over the past few years, involves using a shutter to prevent water from flowing in from the Vembanad lake, while pumping excess water back into the lake. Corporation officials have been directed to set up a petti and para system at Panampilly Nagar. In Vivekananda thodu, which is a part of the Mullassery canal, a stronger pump will be set up in the existing petti and para mechanism.