KOCHI: The negligence on the part of the authorities in preventing stagnation in Perandoor Canal has transformed it into an extensive breeding ground for mosquitoes. As per a project undertaken by the Public Works Department, the culvert passing over the Perandoor Canal at Kaloor would be raised so as to ease the flow in the canal. Despite Union Minister K V Thomas’s declaration in this regard in September last that the project would be taken up with ‘immediate effect’, it is yet to take off. “Though tender for the project was floated many times, it had to be dropped each time as the quoted amount was 100-125 per cent higher than the allotted amount. And, a re-tendering process was carried out. However, the amount quoted is justified in a way since the project is a tough one,” said a highly-placed PWD official.However, he said there was no immediate need to reconstruct the culvert. “The culvert is neither broken nor does the water from the canal overflow. These are the criteria for a project to be termed ‘urgent’. Hence, the project can wait a little until the tender-related problems are sorted out. The canal should first be cleared of waste and silt so that the water flows properly through the existing culvert,” he said. The tendering of the project would be done soon with a revised estimate. Meanwhile, the Corporation officials said desilting and cleaning of the Perandoor Canal was being done on a regular basis. “A thorough desilting of all the canals in the city was done last year using funds to the tune of `5 crore. But, Perandoor Canal is still clogged as people continue to treat it as a dumping yard. Since the amount required for a thorough cleaning is huge, it can be done only once in two years,” said Soumini Jain, Chairperson of Works Standing Committee, Kochi Corporation.
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