KOCHI: The silence that greets visitors at Ebin Paul’s house in Chembumukku is deafening. A few relatives are still at home and the family is yet to recover from the shock of their son’s untimely demise in the ‘death pits’ of the Palarivattom- Kakkanad Road.
The 23-year-old was working with a private company and was on his way home from work last Friday when he fell prey to the laxity from the part of authorities - including local and district administrations and the PWD - in clearing the potholes.
Anyone in power is yet to ask the golden question as to how this family of three will live on having lost their breadwinner to the cobwebs in the government machinery. Who will compensate for the loss of this family and who will be held responsible?
Ebin’s father CA Paul is a driver while his mother Daisy is a housewife. He has a brother Godwin who is an engineering student. Despite knowing the family depended on Ebin, the authorities are yet to reach out to them. They approached the District Collector with a request to look into the state of the road as soon as possible and there was a positive response from the part of the Collector. Paul is beyond words as he tries to talk about the loss of his son. “We lost our boy, and it is imperative the authorities take sure steps to ensure no one else loses their son on these potholes,” Ebin’s uncle told Express.
“So far, no discussion has taken place to provide compensation to the boy. It comes under the state government’s purview. Anyhow I will look into the matter,” said K Mohammed Y Safirulla, District Collector.
Now comes the question of who is to be held responsible. Earlier, in a rare case, an FIR was registered against the Kerala Water Authority officials in a fatal road accident case reported in Kozhikode in 2013. A 39-year-old woman rider died in the accident after her scooter fell as it hit a pothole, throwing her onto the road and a private bus ran over her at Thondayad on December 17, 2013. The investigations into the case revealed gross negligence on the part of the KWA.In Ebin’s case too, there is a long list of people responsible. However, they walk free as more lives crash and burn on the roads of the state.