Several parts of the city and West Kochi remained inundated well into the night after incessant rain pounded the district yet again for the second time in a week since the early hours of Friday.
The major hubs that were inundated include M.G. Road and the KSRTC bus station located on the western side of the city. “The situation is as grim as on July 29, when much of the city remained flooded for hours. With drains overflowing, water entered shops, houses, and other buildings on M.G. Road and side roads. Broken or missing slabs over drains have worsened the situation, as they pose threat to the safety of pedestrians who will be unable to differentiate between the footpath and open drains,” said Rajesh Nair, convenor, M.G. Road Merchants Association.
The ground floor of several shops on Jew Street, Kaloor, parts of Banerjee Road, and numerous other arterial and side roads too remained under water as on Friday noon, posing health risks as well. Traffic too was affected in many areas, including Judges Avenue.
Novel protest
Meanwhile, traders on Jew Street adopted an innovative mode of protest against the alleged apathy of the Kochi Corporation in declogging drains and canals, by installing mechanical fountains in front of their shops. “We decided on this, since our patience was running out. Massive funds allotted for the upkeep of drains and canals are in wrong hands. No auditing is done either,” said Sadik K.A., a shop owner.
A few days ago, he shot a video (which went viral) showing migrant workers retrieve hundreds of plastic and glass bottles that were dumped into drains at Palarivattom on Civil Line Road and ended up choking the drains.
KSRTC Ernakulam Zonal Officer Tajudeen Sahib explained how rain had been making life miserable for passengers and staff at the KSRTC bus station in the past many decades. “We hope to ready a project to lessen the impact of rain in the area. Buses operated as usual on Friday,” he said.
High tide warning
Kochi Corporation works standing committee chairman P.M. Harris said the situation was not as bad as during last week’s rainfall. “The city generally gets flooded in the first heavy monsoon rainfall. Dumping of plastic bottles and other waste worsened the situation during rain last week. Much of this has been cleaned. The continuing severe rainfall in Idukki and the possibility of high tide might alter the situation in the city,” he added.
A senior official of the District Emergency Operation Centre said the rising water level in rivers and other waterbodies around the city was a cause for concern.