Reportedly when implementing a kerala high court order to protect Kochi’s Thevara-Perandoor canal, the kerala government on wednesday has made disposal of any kind of waste into the canal an offence. Meanwhile the order, issued by the local Self government Department, states that dumping of waste and drainage of sewage into the canal will be liable for prosecution.
Furthermore terming the canal the lifeline of kochi, the high court had noted that it has turned into a ‘rancid, putrid, sewage canal’. Perhaps the court had also issued a set of directions to the state government to save the Thevara-Perandoor canal, including making pollution of the canal a punishable offence and the order has also specifically stated that no sewage or human waste should be drained into the canal ‘so as to endanger the lives of fellow citizens’.
Earlier in the october 18 hearing, the judge had stated that the dilapidated condition of the canal is the sole reason for the massive flooding in the city. Moreover the 10.5 kilometre long canal starting from Thevara and ending at Perandoor in Vaduthala passes along the heart of the city and the canal in the past was a significant waterbody aiding the people for transportation of goods and even fishing. However, over the years, a major portion of the canal shrunk due to rampant encroachments.
