The dredging work of the Champakkara-Thevara interior waterway has came to a halt, thanks to official apathy and absence of officials due to Piravom by-poll.
According to officials, the dredging work will be further delayed as no step has been taken to remove the mud from the canal sides.
“We can’t resume the dredging works without removing the sludge from the shores of Champakkara canal. Now all the concerned officials are busy with election duty. We have to wait until the election is over,” said K.N. Raji, RDO, Fort Kochi.
The officials have plans to convene a meeting with local people, environmentalists and scientific experts to discuss the ecological problems arising out of the dredging in the canal.
However, Piravom by-poll and subsequent code of conduct that came in to force have thrown a spanner in the works.
The district administration also plans to dump the mud far way in the remaining phases. The dredging work that began last month was stopped when the local people and fishermen came with strong protests against dumping of the mud along the shores of the canal.
But later they allowed the district administration to resume the dredging works on condition that the officials would remove the mud from the Champakkara shores.