Hundreds of pipes have been directly depositing all kinds of waste, including septic waste, into the canal

KOCHI: “We used to swim across the canal to visit Thevara church . The water was clear and was home to a variety of small fishes in those days. We, children used to splash the water to the banks to see the fish. Both sides of the canal were dotted with lush green paddy fields,” recollects 65-year-old N X Nelson, a resident in Panampilly Nagar standing on the side of the Thevara–Perandoor canal, which has turned into a sewerage ditch for Kochi over the past few decades.

Nelson rues the indifference on the part of public in saving the canal. “The canal’s fate started changing more than two decades ago when more buildings began to sprout in the area. Now, waste water, including toilet waste from houses situated on the sides of the canal, directly flows into it. People also dump solid waste in the cover of the night, all of it which finally ends up in the sea. The reckless attitude on the part of public has caused irrevocable damage to the water body,” says Nelson pointing at the pipes directly depositing septic waste into the canal near Panampilly Nagar.

Eighty-year-old Antony, a Thevara native, recounts that people used to bath in the canal until 30 years ago. “It was wider and clean till three decades ago. As more people started to settle in rented houses on both sides of the canal, they started dumping waste into it. They did not have any other spots to throw out their waste. Now, kitchen waste, plastic waste, sewage and slaughter-waste end up in the waterway. No one can clean it up,” says a dejected-looking Antony.

The high court on Friday had asked the state government to issue an order banning dumping of waste in the canal in two months. The court also listed out a set of instructions to clean up the canal.

In several places the sidewalls have been damaged and encroachments have eaten into large tracts of the canal from Panampilly Nagar to Perandoor. Plastic bottles and carry bags can be seen floating on the water. Residents complain workers who come to desilt the canal dump the silt on its sides. “When it rains, the silt flows back into the canal. As for the residents who throw waste in the canal, they are forced to do so because the corporation often fails to collect waste routinely,’ says a resident near Thevara market.

Kathrikadavu councilor Grace Joseph blames the public in general for the sorry plight of the canal. ‘The local body has been spending crores to clean the canal. But the public’s attitude does not change. Even hospital waste is disposed into the canal. When I tried to block a vehicle carrying septic waste a month ago, the driver tried to hit us,” she says.

