KOCHI: The heavy rain that lashed through Saturday night and Monday definitely brought respite from the heat, bringing down the mercury level. But it created much distress too. The rain inundated certain parts of the city, signaling that the days ahead would be dreary for Kochiites. Low-lying areas in the city were flooded and traffic and normal life disrupted.The KSRTC bus stand was the worst affected. As the entire area was inundated offices functioning in the premises had to close down. The office of the station master had to be shifted to a bus, with the employees of incoming and outgoing buses reporting there. "As usual the bus stand is flooded after a spell of heavy rain. This has been the case for past many years. We have lodged complaints, three years ago all the employees went on a strike for two days, but no action has been taken so far,” said Joy George, Controlling Inspector, KSRTC.The drain beside the bus stand is clogged with bushes, garbage and waste including excreta. The over-flowing water enters the bus stand and office floor. “If you step into the the filthy water, you are sure to suffer from rashes and skin diseases,” said the bus employees.Commuters were forced to wait outside the bus station since they could not find space for themselves or their luggage inside the stand. The shops functioning in the KSRTC building were also knee-deep in dirty water. “Our cries are never heard. When water enters the place our business is badly affected. The KSRTC which is prompt in collecting the rent is yet to find a solution for our problems,” says Ramesan, a shopkeeper. Roads leading to the KSRTC bust-stand were also completely under water, leaving the incoming and outgoing passengers in difficulties. While the situation on the main roads like MG Road, Park Avenue, Kaloor and Banerji Road was better it was difficult to differentiate the road from the drain on the inundated Stadium Road, East Sannidhi Road and Paramara Road. Motorists as well as pedestrians found it difficult to. “The downpour comes out with a bitter truth — that all talk about authorities cleaning up the canals as a solution to the water-logging mean next to nothing," said Joy George. Though there are 18 projects to construct adequate drain canals in Kochi, only four have been completed so far. The lack of coordination among various agencies like the Kochi Corporation, PWD, KSEB, KSRTC, KWA and BSNL is affecting such projects adversely.
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