Logs pile up: Forest Department’s apathy stifles river under Thommankuthu causeway

Mail This Article
Thommankuthu: Logs drifting downstream Kannadipuzha River and getting stuck at the causeway (chappath in local parlance) in Thommankuthu are severely blocking the water flow at the location. Garbage and mud accumulated around the pile-up are further impeding the course of water. As a result, the causeway gets inundated quickly during rains.
The logs are located at several spots on the Kannadipuzha River in Thommankuthu, including Vattakkayam bathing area, Maniyam City area, Kallolippu and the causeway. Forest Department officials said that the logs came downstream from the ‘koopu’ (timber depot) at Veloor and could be removed only by the authorities there.
The river is also blocked by trunks of trees that flowed down from the forest during rains and were jammed at various places. Yet another cause for the poor flow of water in the river is deposits of sand. Residents of the locality alleged that the authorities were reluctant to mine the sand and auction it. They also demanded immediate measures to remove the sand and smoothen the course of the river.
Even though the government had allotted funds to build a proper bridge in place of the causeway, the Forest Department is yet to grant the necessary approval. Local residents accused the Forest authorities of adopting an unfavourable stand on the issue as they had not approved the plan even when the two-year term of the contractor assigned to construct the bridge was about to expire.
The funds were sanctioned to demolish the causeway and construct a bridge in its place under a project to develop the Neyyassery – Thokkumbadan Road to modern standards with German technology. In order to provide an alternative route for vehicles to cross the river when the causeway is demolished, a temporary bridge has to be built. However, the Forest Department has opposed this plan also.
Local people pointed out that the Forest Department’s reluctance to approve the plan would also hamper the prospects of Thommankuthu as a tourism destination.