Sudden downpour inundates arterial roads in Kochi

The unexpected downpour in many parts of the city on Sunday afternoon caught almost everyone by surprise, while it caused inundation of arterial roads like MG Road.

Pedestrians and commuters had quite a tough time wading through water overflowing from drains and canals. Shopkeepers had a gruelling time collecting the water that entered their shops and pouring it out.

Traders under the banner of Save MG Road campaign narrated their ordeal of having to put up with ‘MG Road turning into MG River’ during rains, despite drains and culverts being rebuilt by DMRC as part of Kochi Metro works and the CSML reconstructing drains as part of developing Banerjee Road, Shanmugham Road and Park Avenue Roads in the city hub as smart roads.

Office bearers of Ernakulam Vikasana Samity that was in the forefront of campaigns demanding a network of scientifically-built drains and canals and their frequent declogging, expressed concern at the city hub getting inundated even during moderate rainfall. The Samity and EDRAAC have been pinpointedly blaming Kochi Corporation for not completing pre-monsoon declogging of drains, which resulted in arterial roads and low-lying areas getting inundated on half a dozen occasions following rains since the last week of May.