The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the District Collector and the committee constituted by the court to visit the Ernakulam KSRTC depot and file their recommendations to address flooding of the depot during rain.
Justice Devan Ramachandran observed that the court could not be oblivious to the matter as it was in the interest of the public.
The court said that the recommendations of the Collector and the committee could finally lead to the restoration of the depot to its former glory.
The court made the observation when petitions seeking action to prevent flooding of the city came up for hearing.
The Amici Curiae in the case submitted that though flooding in the city had been much lesser than what was experienced in the past years, the KSRTC depot was unfortunately still flooded. They said it was more so on account of the fact that the depot was located in a very low-lying area, making it virtually impossible for water to flow into the Vivekananda canal. They also pointed out that there was an old pipe laid from the depot into the canal, but because it was laid so low, water from the latter flowed into the former, rather than the other way around.
Mullassery canal
The court also asked the Collector and the committee to evaluate the work on the Mullassery canal, not merely with respect to the ongoing work by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) but also with respect to its restoration in other places where water pipes had already been relocated, and to file a report.
The standing counsel for the KWA submitted that the work for relocating pipes in the canal was in progress, and that it would be completed without delay.
P & T Colony
The court also directed the Collector to visit the site where the apartments for P & T Colony are coming up either by himself or through such other competent authority to be deputed by him, and take a decision on the action to be evolved with respect to the work.
It issued the directive in the view of the submission by the standing counsel for the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) that work on even the first block of the apartment was yet to be completed. The contractor had earlier submitted that the first block of the new apartment complex would be handed over by June 10, and that it would take another 10 days to hand over the second block.
The court said the scenario presented a very difficult situation as residents of the present P & T Colony lived in fear of floods during the monsoon.
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