KOCHI: Addressing a gathering in Kochi during the ‘Coffee with RC’ event on Saturday, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the city needs a comprehensive blueprint for the next five years.
“The government and political parties have the intent but lack a blueprint, resources and a corruption-free team to implement their vision. Political parties claim to make Kochi the next Singapore and Thiruvananthapuram the Barcelona of India. For this we need a solid blueprint. Until 2014, the prevailing narrative was that democracies like India would never succeed and would never raise beyond their third-world status. And the counter-narrative was that India’s democracy is its failure, and China’s success was due to authoritarianism. Now the narrative has changed,” he said at the event, held as part of the Vikasit Kochi initiative.
Rajeev, at the event, also responded to the issues raised by the representatives. “Development should be the criterion to seek and give a vote for a political party. Now, the state and local bodies are borrowing money for infrastructure development as there is no headroom for investment. 60 per cent of the budget heads are meaningless and unnecessary. Healthcare, education and infrastructure development are affected. Thus, a comprehensive infrastructure development blueprint – Vikasit Kochi – is required,” he said.
The problem with Kerala now is that there is no one accountable for what is happening in a school in Kollam and the Kottayam Medical College. “When somebody is accountable, the mistake will not be repeated,” he added.
Representatives of associations, residents and the religious communities also attended the event. Rangadasa Prabhu, of the Ernakulam District Residents Association Apex Council, said that the 110-acre land under the railway should be utilised for the development of a terminal. “The railway should utilise the land and resources. Also, the bulk cargo should be initiated at the Cochin Port Trust,” he said.
R Gopakumar, the president of the Better Kochi Response Group, added that the canal should be revitalised for better water transportation. “Kochi is a city surrounded by water. If the canals are clean and navigable, we can enhance the water-based transport system. It will be more sustainable and affordable for the public,” he said.