Trivandrum: The road leading from Pazhavangadi to Sreekanteshwaram Jn is narrow and is accessed mainly by two wheelers and three wheelers. The stretch runs parallel to the Pazhavangadi Thodu, which could probably be the most polluted water stretch among the city canals.

Every year, a pre-monsoon sanitation drive is held in the city, which is carried out with the supposed intention of cleaning the city before the monsoon showers to prevent the outbreak of epidemics. This year too, the pre-monsoon sanitation drive was launched with much fanfare, but the promised waste treatment plants and incinerators are still on paper.

However, on the upside of the poor monsoons, the city was spared the probability of an epidemic outbreak.

The Pazhavangadi Thodu passes through some key areas in the city like Thampanoor, Pazhavangadi, Vanchiyoor and Pattoor, to finally discharge into Amayizhanchan Thodu near Kannamoola. Naturally this canal bears the highest density of waste among the city’s canals. During the pre-monsoon sanitation drive held every year, the stretch of the canal between Pazavangadi and Sreekanteshwaram Jn gets cleaned using JCBs, only to have the removed waste dumped on the sides of the canal walls.

This year, during the cleaning drive, a part of the narrow road running parallel to the canal also got dug up while the waste was being excavated from the waters.