‘Op Vahini’ a success, 179 canals in Ernakulam cleaned: Officials

KOCHI: Under ‘Operation Vahini’, silt and waste were removed from as many as 179 canals leading to the Periyar and Muvattupuzha rivers in the last six months. This was revealed at a review meeting convened by District Collector Dr Renu Raj on Friday. The meeting noted that removing silt from the river basins resulted in an easy and smooth flow of water. A total of 179 streams were cleaned in the district as part of the project. As much as 21,86,102 cubic metres of silt was removed from the Periyar and 1,72,773 cubic metres from the Muvattupuzha river.

Despite shutters of several dams were opened following the recent heavy rain, the water level in the Periyar did not reach a dangerous level. The meeting noted that the project has helped reduce flooding in areas near the river.

“Silt with less sand content was used in making embankments, stabilise soil and given to farmers for agriculture purposes,” said an irrigation department officer. “The remaining quantities with high-sand content were auctioned off and received `2.5 lakh for the same. Some quantities are yet to be auctioned under Metal Scrap Trade Corporation Limited (MSTC), a government-owned e-commerce service provider involved in diversified e-commerce services,” the officer said.

Over 140 canals leading to the Periyar were cleaned, while silt and waste were removed from 39 canals reaching the Muvattupuzha river. The project began in February this year. As per the department’s data, 1,21,53,939 cubic metres of silt was found in the mainstream and 52,73,703 cubic metres in the tributaries.
The third phase of Operation Breakthrough that will clean the canals of Kochi city is in progress. The renovation work of Mullassery Canal is going on. So far, the cleaning of 68 metres of the canal has been completed. More streams and rivers will be cleaned under Operation Vahini. The district collector was directed to complete the project as soon as possible in the flood-prone areas.