When an IAS officer waded into a dirty lake in Ernakulum to clean it, some in the team of officials that joined him were wary. Locals too were sceptical about the district collector's bid to clean it up. At the time, in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, floods had turned much of Chennai into a floating city. A major reason that the city was deluged was that water bodies in the surrounding areas had been "closed", that is, either built over or drained for agricultural use. Their natural function as sinks to collect rainwater was thus blocked. Excess runoff water contributed to the flooding of the city.

When an IAS officer waded into a dirty lake in Ernakulum to clean it, some in the team of officials that joined him were wary. Locals too were sceptical about the district collector's bid to clean it up. At the time, in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, floods had turned much of Chennai into a floating city. A major reason that the city was deluged was that water bodies in the surrounding areas had been "closed", that is, either built over or drained for agricultural use. Their natural function as sinks to collect rainwater was thus blocked. Excess runoff water contributed to the flooding of the city.