Kochi: Rain batters district, efforts on to dewater flooded areas

KOCHI: Incessant rains saw many places in Kochi as well as several parts of the district submerged on Saturday. With flooding and subsequent disruptions of emergency services, including electricity, West Kochi, especially Chellanam, areas remained cut off.
“We have deployed adequate revenue staff, police, etc. in Chellanam area where sea erosion had been reported.Moreover, 28 national disaster response force (NDRF) personnel have also been deployed at Chellanam,” district collector S Suhas said. Food kits have been distributed to the residents of flood-affected areas.
According to the officials with KSEB, power supply had been disrupted in many places in Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, Palluruthy, Chellanam and Kumbalanghi areas. “We could restore the supply in Fort Kochi, Mattancherry and Palluruthy areas. Though we hired two trucks to reach out to many places in Chellanam panchayat for restoring power supply, the vehicles couldn’t move through the flooded roads,” an official with KSEB said.
“Big trees fell off in many places, including Shanmugham Road area,” said district fire officer Jogy B S.
The district collector procured a 100 HP water pump for dewatering the worst affected areas. We dewatered many places including Judges Avenue, Journalists Colony and Ambedkar Colony using the water pump,” mayor M Anilkumar said. Residents of P and T Colony were rehabilitated to Kendriya Vidyalaya at Kadavanthara.
Control rooms opened
KSEB Perumbavoor circle opened a 24X7 control room (phone number: 996008865). There will be measures to remove earth using excavators if there are landslides in the eastern parts of the district (contact number: 0485- 2832459). Fire and rescue services department has started measures to remove the uprooted trees en route DCCs and CFLTCs (contact number-0485-2822420).