Govt to seek rly assistance to construct parallel canal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government will involve railways in the construction of a canal under the railway line at Thampanoor as part of Operation Flood. The proposed canal will run parallel to the existing one and the railway is being involved as part of utilizing advanced technology that would negate the need to shift railway lines and to halt train traffic.
Chief secretary Jiji Thomson said that a letter will be forwarded to Union railway ministry regarding the project."Manual labour is going to cost a great deal of money and time. Railways has got the required technology to construct a parallel canal under the railway lines. We will forward a communication to Union railway minister to ensure the cooperation of railways," said Thomson.
The proposed technology employs trenchless method by which pipes are inserted under the track using push-through technique or auger-boring technique. In auger-boring horizontal bore holes are formed through the ground providing a safe method of installing pipes and cable ducts while supporting the ground during the bore.
Pipes and ducts could be installed in distances from 5 metres - 140 metres using this method. A senior railway official said that although the method has not been used for constructing culverts or canals under railway lines in Kerala, it was successfully used in constructing sub-ways in Kayamkulam and Chalakudi.
Officials associated with the project said railways was being incorporated in the scheme as part of fund mobilization as well. "Railways had also suffered badly during showers with tracks being flooded and trains being cancelled. With the new technology, they could partake a share of the amount required and could resolve the flooding at Thampanoor," an official said.
The direction of canal will remain the same, it will start from Thampanoor and run along the Central Theatre, Power House Road, Pazhavangadi and eventually flow till Kannammoola where it would merge with Amayizhanchan canal. The government had also held talks with Navy regarding the use of push-through technology for constructing underground canal but it was decided that railways could be involved in the scheme. The plan is to clean the existing canal and with two canals, much of the water that gets clogged at Thampanoor could be redirected to Pazhavangadi from where it could be taken along another widened canal.
Earlier, the officials had planned to widen the Amayizhanchan canal that runs beneath the railway lines at a cost of Rs 10 crore. This would have enabled the canal to carry 19 cu metres of water during flood, however, the project was dropped after railways cited technical hurdles.