KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the amici curiae appointed in the Kochi city road maintenance case to inspect the condition of footpaths at least on the major roads and submit a report. The court also directed the Kochi corporation to inform it of the steps taken to maintain the footpaths on or before February 4.
Justice Devan Ramachandran observed that most of the roads in the city are now in a better shape than before, but the pedestrian paths even on major roads are not maintained properly. Going by the scheme of planning adopted by Kochi city, paths are constructed on storm drains and covered by slabs. However, in many places, they are either missing or in a dangerous condition.
The court noted that at PNVM junctio there are two huge openings in the drain which can injure or even kill a pedestrian. Similarly, from the Lisie junction till Kaloor, footpaths are absent. At Kaloor, on the eastern side next to the private bus stand, the drain has been kept open and all these can cause deleterious consequences, if not averted at least now.