KOCHI: Of the many tales of apathy the residents of Edakochi have to share, this one takes the cake. For the past eight months, the roads here are in a pitiable state, causing misery to motorists and pedestrians alike.
It all began with the project to lay pipeline for water connection, which took off after a delay of two years. “Though the funds for the project were allotted during the time of UDF Government, the work began only in 2018, and it took eight long months for the pipeline to be laid on the Edakochi-Aroor stretch,” says Redgen Rebello, general secretary, Save Edakochi Forum.
The work was undertaken after much dilly-dallying,allege residents.“Initially, the pipe was laid on 300 m from Aroor Bridge to St Lawrence Church. It then halted abruptly, causing untold difficulties to the shopkeepers on that stretch. Nothing happened for a long time until the elections were announced. Suddenly, there was a bustle and the pipes were laid on the remaining 1.5 km within 20 days. They could have completed the work much before, but kept delaying it intentionally,” added Redgen.
Potholed roads
The worst was yet to come. Though the pipeline solved the water scarcity issues, in the process, the dug up roads turned into a complete mess. “Accidents are so common and there have been two deaths so far. Not just that, sales in the shops along the stretch has totally gone down," said Redgen. Many experience health issue due to the dust emanating from the road. But, the protests seem to have woken up the authorities from slumber.“The road work started on Thursday. According to the authorities, the fund was allocated just a few days back. The condition of the remaining stretch is awful. Once the monsoon arrives, the situation will worsen. There are five schools in the stretch,” he added.
What officials say
Edakochi councillor Prathibha Ansari said the pipeline work should have been completed by April 2018, but the delay was due to factors like flood and replacement of pipes.“Since the Model Code of Conduct was in place during elections, we couldn't float tenders. Though we gave a letter to the Election Commission seeking approval, it didn't take a favourable stance. The Kerala Water Authority had already paid the PWD for the work. It has assured speedy completion of work,” she added.According to the PWD, the work on 430 m has been completed. “There was no delay from our side. The KWA work finished a week ago. We have floated the tender and the work will begin in 10 days. The monsoon can delay the tarring process but we can fill the potholes. The remaining work will finish soon,” said M T Shabu, executive engineer, PWD Roads Division, Ernakulam.
Bus owners protest
Though the private bus owners decided to stop conducting services to Edakochi due to the bad state of roads, the move was called off after authorities started the work. “Since the maintenance work has begun, the services will ply normally. We hope the work will finish by then,” M B Sathyan, Private Bus Owners’
Association president.
Councillorspeak
Since the model code of conduct was in place during elections, we couldn't float tenders. Though we gave a letter to the Election Commission for approval, it was not.
TWO MLAs
Ironically, Edakochi has two MLA's - M Swaraj and John Fernandez, the Anglo-Indian representative in the Legislative Assembly - but this is yet to translate into any meaningful development work.