Canal Cleanup Strategies

SPONGE COLLABORATIVE + WEAVING WITH WATER Team

MULLASSERY CANAL FRAMEWORK AND CANAL EDGE MASTERPLAN

Annexure

1. Background of Flood Mitigation Efforts in Kerala

There have been a number of engineering-focused flood mitigation efforts in the Mullassery Canal precinct, beginning with the Esteem Report in 2004 and culminating with Phase 1 and Phase II of Operation Breakthrough in 2020, in the aftermath of the Kerala floods of 2018 caused by an extreme rainfall event.

Esteem Report Recommendations

● To avoid flooding in MG Road, a new west flowing drain is proposed from Chittoor road across MG road at Padma Junction and discharging into Market Basin Canal. ● To avoid water logging in KSRTC bus stand, Karikkumari neighbourhood the canal is proposed to be widened to uniform width of 3m from KSRTC premises upto the point where the canal is having 4m at present. ● To relieve the pressure in Karikkumari area another west flowing drain is proposed along Hospital road cutting across MG road from Chitoor road. ● For effective discharge at all times the invert level has to be kept above the high tide level of +0.44 during rainy months.

Operation Breakthrough Recommendations:

The Operation Breakthrough progress report 20209 observes that under an AMRUT scheme, the bed of the Mullasserry canal was concreted and raised by 2.5m for a length of 400m so that it was at a higher level than the Thevara-Perandoor canal into which it drains. Prior to the concreting of the canal bed, the canal depth was at 4m depth. The report states that as a result of the concreting of the canal bed, the KSRTC bus stand and South Railway station began to see waterlogging during normal rainfall due to a reduction in the carrying capacity of the canal.

Operation Breakthrough was implemented in the aftermath of the 2018 flooding, in two phases. ● In phase 1, the drains of the city were renovated to avoid flooding for a budget of Rs 10 crore. ● In phase 2, the mouths of canals were desilted and cleared of obstruction, including the Mullasserry canal.

Increasing the carrying capacity of the canal will go some way towards reducing waterlogging in the case of a normal rainfall event. However, the issues of desilting and canal maintenance is not a long term solution. 10 Plastic waste and illegal sewage connections into canals, too, add to the problem of obstructions in the carrying capacity of the canal which require long-term and ongoing action under a unified framework.