Call to wind up cleaning work before monsoon

KOCHI: Ernakulam District Collector S Suhas, on Monday, asked the heads of all the local bodies to complete the cleaning of water bodies, canals and waste disposal from public spaces before the commencement of monsoon. 

Suhas, after holding a meeting with various stakeholders on Friday, also discussed the steps required for extending the programme to dispose of the waste at the source itself, to the maximum number of local bodies in the district. “Operation Breakthrough, which was launched to tackle the waterlogging issues in the Kochi Corporation, will be extended to neighbouring municipalities and panchayats. As the first step of this plan, dredging will be carried out in the Periyar to a length of 92 km and 52 km of the Muvattupuzha river.

The waste and debris will also be removed from the rivers. This will help in increasing the depth of the river and thereby reducing the risk of flood to an extent,” said the collector. The District Collector also asked the stakeholders to submit the detailed proposal for waste management for availing funds, if required.