The Hindu      19.02.2015   

Polluted canals in city to be cleaned up

The heavily polluted and stagnant canals in the city may get a fresh lease of life shortly.

A meeting chaired by Minister for Urban Affairs Manjalamkuzhi Ali at Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday decided to commission a detailed study for drawing up a project for cleaning and rejuvenating polluted canals in the city. The Kerala State Urban Development Project has been entrusted with undertaking a feasibility study.

Poor state

Mr. Ali convened a meeting on the issue after noticing the pitiable state of a canal during his visit to the city to lay the foundation stone for the new bridge being built by the Greater Cochin Development Authority at Manappattyparambu.

A slew of canals, including the Thevara-Perandoor canal, Karanakodam canal, Mantra canal, Pandarachal and Pallichal, are overdue for cleaning. Besides, purification of the water in the canal and side embankment also needs to be done.

Funds promised

The Minister promised enough funds for the project and assistance to identify and resolve the issues in the renovation of canals.

MLAs Dominic Presentation, Benny Behanan, and Hibi Eden; Mayor Tony Chammany, municipal chairmen’s chamber chairman Jamal Manakkadan also attended the meeting.