Even as a political row has broken out over the State government’s decision on Saturday to recover 65 cents of land, including the Pathrakulam pond held by the Sree Vidyadhiraja Sabha at East Fort, city Corporation and district administration officials who have worked on flood mitigation efforts in the Fort area are of the opinion that the real purpose will be served only if the pond that was filled up is retrieved.
The order issued by the Revenue Secretary on Saturday says that technical studies may be undertaken if the resumed land has to be used for flood control measures in the Thampanoor and East Fort region, as it was used in the older days.
“The closest we came to retrieving the old flood control mechanism was during the Operation Anantha flood mitigation drive four years ago. The drains in this area that were clogged or encroached upon and built over, were all cleared up. But the work remained incomplete, partly because one of the larger drains could not be fully cleared up, and also because the Pathrakulam had disappeared,” said an official.
Water circulation
According to a former official of the district administration, the Pathrakulam got its name as it was used till the 1970s for cleaning the urulis, varpus, and other heavy vessels used in daily rituals at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. But it served the more important purpose of ensuring that the area was not flooded and the Padmatheertham pond remained clean.
Water from the Kochar, a tributary of the Killi river, was brought into the Padmatheertham Pond, from where the excess water got diverted to the Pathrakulam through an udnerground passage, from where it was redirected to the Thekkanamkara canal, and from there to the confluence of Karamana and the Killi rivers at Moonnattumukku. The water level as well as the quality of water was maintained by this system of constant circulation.
Meanwhile, the office-bearers of the Sree Vidyadhiraja Sabha said in a press conference here on Sunday that the trust would pursue all legal options to counter the government’s move. The trust maintained that it was unfair on the part of the government to take over the land without even issuing a notice to the trust, on the same night on which the order was issued.
In a statement, Bharatiya Janata Party State president K.Surendran said the government’s move to take over the land at night was condemnable.