15-06-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Kochi Mullassery Canal's 'three-month fix' drags on for five years, Rs 20 crore counting
KOCHI: With the monsoon intensifying, the worst fears of people living near the Mullassery Canal have come true. Even after extensive rejuvenation work, which spanned over five years and cost more than ₹20 crore, the canal still fails to channel stormwater effectively. As a result, the sprawling urban heartland it runs through is inundated after the recent showers.
'Since the onset of the monsoon, my home was flooded for the fourth time on Sunday,' explained 83-year-old T Ravindran, who stays on Swami Vivekananda Road.
'We endured years of renovation work that, needless to say, upended our lives. But even after, we are left with even worse waterlogging. What was the point of all that 'development' if it has only plunged our daily lives into deeper misery,' he added.
As The New Indian Express had highlighted earlier, much of the problem still lies with the canal, more precisely, with its shoddy renovation work. Residents, including local councillor Padmaja S Menon, have pointed out that the project was carried out without proper planning or adequate supervision.
'I had met the officials, even the Collector, numerous times since the work began to air many concerns. The work was sloppy right from the start. Like me, others too had raised the alarm, but none were heeded,' lamented 76-year-old P K Balan, a resident.
First envisioned in 2020 as a 'three-month project' to tame urban flooding as part of the much-touted Operation Breakthrough, the canal, now sealed off with concrete slabs in most sections, gives the impression that all is well.
