Pre-monsoon showers cause waterlogging in Kozhikode

Pre-monsoon showers cause waterlogging in Kozhikode city, affecting Mavoor Road and other areas, with alerts issued for more rain.

The pre-monsoon showers over the past three days have caused waterlogging in various parts of Kozhikode city. Mavoor Road, the lifeline of the city, especially the stretch near the mofussil bus stand, is the most affected.

Many drains have not been cleaned as part of pre-monsoon works, affecting the flow of rainwater into bigger waterbodies. The stormwater drain that covers the heart of the city had recently been cleaned, but the water level in Conolly Canal, into which it empties, is not favourable. The canal could not take in more water from the drains and hence the waterlogging in the city, said sources in the Kozhikode Corporation.

Stadium Junction, which used to be the first to experience waterlogging in the past, is without problems this season as the fault in the drain there, which was spotted last monsoon, was corrected. However, the situation is worse at Mananchira and Kottooli, where major portions of roads have gone under water.

However, the city has not been receiving as much rain as the uplands. Higher altitude regions of the district such as Muthappanpuzha, Anakkampoyil, Arippara as well as Chungam and Karadi near Thamarassery experienced heavy rainfall on Monday, as a result of which many rivers are swollen. Flash floods were experienced in the Iruvazhinji river. Some parts of the national highway towards Wayanad were also waterlogged.

Kozhikode district was on yellow alert on Monday. An orange alert has been issued in the district for Tuesday. The Meteorology department has predicted moderate spell of rainfall with winds gusting to 40 km/hour in the district during the night. While the district experienced an average of 4.6 mm rain on Monday, it is expected to go up to 15 mm on Tuesday.