Demolition of the Vala-Pandor Canal assigned to and completed in time

With this year’s monsoon forecast, Kochi must compete with time to complete its pre-monsoon preparations. As the renovation of the key Muralesai Canal is far from over, areas traditionally known for flooding may also witness similar scenarios this year. |Picture source: H. Vibhu

Kochi is competing with time to complete pre-monsoon engineering, which is expected to arrive earlier than the end of this month.

Unlike previous years, the desalination and deepening of major canals including the Thevara-Perandoor Canal (TP Canal) has been entrusted to the irrigation department. Although the company had carried out projects directly before, this time the civic agency is still largely limited to the supervisory role.

The slight and deepening of the canal worth nearly Rs 10 crore has been divided into four different segments and distributed to separate contractors to ensure that the works are completed simultaneously and packaged on time.

“Accessibility remains a major challenge when implementing canals with hydraulic excavators. In some stretches, there are houses on both sides and a long stretch must be carried out downward or upstream to launch a hydraulic excavator. Bridges, bridges, short distances are separated by short distances, and lack sufficient vertical clearance, while bridges extend to more vertical clearances at lower levels to add further challenges to the numbers.

The possibility of using a crane to launch a hydraulic excavator was also explored. In addition, it is possible to sink into side tiles on some stretches or fences erected by the company to prevent waste dumping and damage. Foreseeing this, it is estimated that the cost of the restoration project will also be included. It is also planned to deploy departmental silt pushers.

The department also plans to carry out adjacent panchayats in emergencies such as Vipeen, Chellanam and Kumbalam to increase its ability to carry water under Operation Vahini. However, only limited works can be carried out as part of the operation, as only Rs 250 crore were allocated to meet the demand of approximately Rs 15 crore.

“We will hold meetings with officials from the irrigation department to review the progress of the work. The company has completed around 50% to 60% of the works before the monsoon, such as cleaning the increasingly larger drainage pipes, at the expense of Rs 5 lakh and Rs 8 lakh, but, Year of Cronses home to nording word word to reted toe treed to reted tore tore tore tore tore tore. Seena Gokul, chairman of the company’s working committee, said more workers can complete these works on time.

She added that the electric motor and “Petti and Para” have been installed in places that are traditionally susceptible to water supply during monsoons.