Work on storm water drainage project.

Kozhikode with its feeble drainage system will not be able to handle a flood situation similar to that of Chennai, though such a flood is a very distant possibility.

But the public can rest assured that with the completion of the Storm Water Drainage System in a few years, the city will be able to avert chances of any normal flooding, said Project Manager of the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP) K. Somasekhara Kaimal.

The KSUDP has undertaken the storm water drainage system all over the city. The work of the drains has been completed in the coastal area. There are 10 roads in the heart of the city that come under the project. Drainage work is in progress in three of them and is in various stages of completion. The area around the mofusil bus stand, which is prone to flooding every year, will be free of the problem once the drainage work on the 100-m stretch from Focus Mall to G-Mart and the 300-m stretch from RP Mall to Arayadathupalam is completed. “The pipelines are so wide that the time for water to drain off will be very less,” Mr. Kaimal said.

The Sales Tax office road, Karapparamba-P.M. Kutty Road and five other roads are included in the storm water drainage project.

'Our duty is complete once the drainage work is done. It is up to the authorities to maintain them and to de-silt them on a yearly basis,' Mr. Kaimal added.

THE HINDU