Major canal linking Ernakulam South Railway station with Kochi backwaters in the offing

The project aims at alleviating flooding at South station and Jose Junction; the Irrigation department, which will construct the 1.3-km-long canal, will submit a detailed report to the Kochi Corporation soon

A major canal, which begins from Vivekananda Canal near the Ernakulam South railway station and drains directly into the Kochi backwaters, is being planned to alleviate flooding in city areas including Ernakulam South and Jose Junction.

The Irrigation department is finalising the proposal for the nearly 1.3-km-long major canal. The department has taken up the proposal on a request from Mayor M. Anilkumar. It will submit a detailed proposal to the Corporation shortly, said R. Baji Chandran, Superintending Engineer, Irrigation department.

The recent drain works in the city, implemented by various agencies, have culminated in floodwaters accumulating at Jose Junction. The slope of some drains from near Durbar Hall is towards Jose Junction and not to the backwaters, which results in the accumulation of water at the junction. Moreover, flooding was reported in new areas which were hitherto free of waterlogging. These anomalies in the construction of drains have worsened flooding in a few places, he said.

Incidentally, the Ernakulam South railway station and Kalathiparambil Road are among the worst-hit. The busy thoroughfare often gets submerged in rain thus affecting the movement of pedestrians and vehicles.

The proposed canal will have water collection chambers at an interval of 10 metres each. There will be grating on the mouth of the collection chambers. The canal will have a width of around two metres. Though the width is insufficient to carry floodwaters, the width was fixed after considering availability of space. There will be provision for draining water from nearby canals. The canal will cross Jose Junction and move towards Rajendra Maidan where it will open into the backwaters, said Mr. Chandran.

A major hurdle before engineers in the implementation of the project is pipelines and cables drawn along the area. No agency has a clear idea of the cables and pipelines. They need to be removed and relaid while constructing the canal, he said.