A miracle: the present condition of the Connolly canal in Kozhikode is nothing short of that.
This was the canal that was cleaned up thoroughly through a massive public campaign in 2018. But no efforts of the Corporation or the voluntary organisations could improve the water quality in the 11.2-km-long waterbody.
But the lockdown made the impossible possible. The water in the canal is clean like never before. What used to be black water is now crystal clear.
More than 5,000 volunteers from all walks of life took part in Operation Connolly Canal spanning over a month. At the end of it, all vegetation on both the banks of the canal was cleared. More than 2,500 bags of plastic waste were removed and sent for recycling. In the second phase of the operation, the canal was split into eight sectors, each entrusted to a committee for upkeep. But no amount of vigilance could attain the present water quality in the canal.
Babu Parambath, project coordinator of the Niravu waste management company that spearheaded Operation Connolly Canal, attributes the change to the non-functioning of polluting industries and other establishments during the lockdown.
“The timber industry in Kallai was one of the major reasons for the water in the canal turning black. The water from the Kallai river would enter the canal during high tide. The industry is temporarily shut down now and, as a result, the water is clean,” Mr. Parambath said.
Eateries and market
Waste water from restaurants in the city and the vegetable market at Palayam was also diverted into the canal. “We have closed around 140 drains that open into the canal as part of the operation. But more needs to be done. Small treatment plants may do the trick,” Mr. Parambath said, adding that a proper dredging and de-silting of the mouth of the Kallai river was also in order.
“Once there is proper flow of salt water through the canal, the water hyacinth covering it now will disappear,” he said.
Mr. Parambath called upon the Kozhikode Corporation to carry out regular maintenance of the canal to keep up the present pristine condition.
Mayor Thottathil Raveendran said the Corporation had already set the wheel rolling in this regard. “We have directed the restaurants not to dispose of untreated water into the drains. A major project for dredging the mouth of the Kallai river is also in motion as the funds have already been sanctioned,” he said.