KOCHI: The threat of flooding looms large on the lives of the residents near Amaravathi Park in Fort Kochi. With the Corporation dumping filth scraped out from nearby canals and drains on the roadside, even a drizzle is enough to push the sediments back into the drains in the area, clogging them.“It has been almost four days since the Corporation dumped the sediments near the park. When it rains, the filth flows back into the drains. The area is already flood- prone as the drains are usually clogged and the area is low-lying,” said P C Thomas, secretary, Amaravathi Residents’ Association.“When we approached the officials concerned, we were told that this is the only place that can be reached by a lorry to take away the filth. However, nothing has been done so far,” he added.Meanwhile, the area councillor stated that the spot was just a temporary ‘storage area’ for the filth. “We have only three Corporation workers to carry out the desilting of the drains and canal in the ward. Since most of these areas are inaccessible by vehicles, these workers have to manually clear the drains and carry the filth back in wheel barrows. They then accumulate it in a place that is accessible to a vehicle. We have been provided with a lorry which will come and clear the waste once in 15 days. However, half the filth has been already cleared and we are waiting for the vehicle to clear the rest,” said P S Rajam, Corporation Councillor (Amaravathi).“We chose this particular spot since we do not have any other open space to keep the filth until the arrival of the lorry. None of the residents will allow the Corporation to store the silt in their private plots. Hence, we have to make-do with the roadside,” she said.Meanwhile, residents claimed that the Corporation could utilise the open public ground near Fort Kochi Veli. “Dumping the silt in a way that it will flow back into the drains will nullify the effort taken by the Corporation to clear the drains,” said locals.
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