KOCHI: Once counted among one of the most beautiful places in the city, Queen’s Walkway in Kochi is slowly losing its charm. The tussle between government and private entities in the locality has thrown waste management out of gear, infesting the area and the water with plastic garbage.
Residents associations on the stretch handled waste management before the Goshree Island Development Authority (GIDA) took up cleaning and maintenance of the property. Conflict with the GIDA also prompted the associations to opt out of maintenance duties.
“Since then, the walkway has been a mess. There are heaps of garbage in most points, even in the water,” said social activist Ranjith Thampy. He alleged that no cleaning has taken place on the walkway for the past few days. “The volume of plastic waste floating on the backwaters and near the mangroves has increased,” he said.
Autorickshaw driver Babu S, who visits Queen’s Walkway every afternoon for lunch break, recalled how the stretch used to be neat. “Sweeping has not been regular for the past few days. Even the fallen leaves have not been cleared,” he said.
Jogger Meagle Tharakkan said it was upsetting that neither the public nor the authorities were bothered about looking after such a beautiful place.Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden said until last year, when the district collector was in charge of GIDA, they held meetings regularly with representatives of the residents associations in the area to renew the maintenance agreement.
“Raghuraman, the new GIDA secretary, has big plans to revamp the area. The project includes allowing more shops to operate on the stretch. This would attract more crowd and is something that the associations have opposed,” he said, adding, “While we have no objection to the revamp plan, it should not disrupt the peace of the area.”
He said he had urged Raghuraman to ensure the place does not get too crowded. “I suggested starting with as few shops as possible and then increasing their number gradually. A meeting on the matter will be held after the Thrikkakara byelection. The collector, MLA and I will attend it,” Hibi said.
However, Raghuraman maintained that the walkway had been cleared of waste. “Following disagreement with us, they (associations) withdrew their cleaning staff,” he said.