Garbage heap adds to woes

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The absence of a proper storm water management system and the presence of garbage packets that clogged the drains at many places, have been pointed out as major reasons for the flash flood that threw the city into havoc and disorder on Saturday.The rains that began on Friday night and which continued till the early hours of Saturday saw most of the low-lying areas water-clogged and claiming the lives of a near dozen people.The garbage disposal crisis which was finally about to see some relief on Friday with more Kudumbashree women venturing out to collect garbage and landfill them at government lands, collapsed totally on Saturday. At many water-logged places, the garbage in plastic covers could be seen floating through the water. At many places, it clogged the drains.The City Corporation officials visited several flash-flood affected areas, Karimadom colony, Muttada, Pattom and Kanjirampara. However, they brushed aside the allegations that garbage was the reason for the flash flood."It might have added to the woes but it is not the sole reason. The natural drains are clogged at many places. Due to constructions or due to the absence of proper cleaning of canals and drains,” said Deputy Mayor G Happykumar.Though locals at many places expressed fear about the possible outbreak of epidemics due to the rains and the garbage, the Corporation officials have rejected the possibility.They said that the land-filled garbage would not in any way be washed away by the rains. It was done by taking huge trenches using JCB, several feet below the ground, Health officials of the Corporation said.It is also the unauthorised constructions at many places, especially where there used to be natural drains, that have caused such repeated occurrences of flash floods, a Health official said.Though the Corporation has been asking high rise buildings to accommodate rain harvesting system in their buildings, none of them have given any serious thoughts in that direction.