KOCHI: For long, the narrow yet notable Kaniyampuzha Road, which links Vyttila to Eroor, has remained in a poor condition, with the stretch prone to waterlogging. The condition deteriorated to such an extent that the nearly 2km-long pothole-ridden section even saw the “downfall” of several two-wheeler riders.
Residents heaved a sigh of relief when the PWD finally decided to act. It raised the ground level at the section where the issue was gravest before laying interlock tiles, replacing the mortar. The work was carried out on a war-footing and completed in a week’s time. Finally, the department opened the road for traffic on Thursday.
But that did not dissipate the anger of the locals. The reason: The department “forgot” to construct a drain along the side of the road as initially promised. Now, stormwater threatens to enter shops and houses that line the stretch when it rains.
“We were relieved when they took up the work. But now the issue has been compounded. They promised to build a small drain on one side of the road, but failed to do so. The contractor has left along with machinery and equipment. With no drain, the storm water will enter my shop. This was not an issue earlier,” charged an angry Muraleedharan, who runs a provision store.
“The issue has been exacerbated by the fact that a KWA pipeline running underground has developed a leak. The KWA should fix the issue urgently, to prevent the newly tiled road from deteriorating,” said V C Jayendran, convenor, TRURA (Tripunithura Rajanagari Union of Residents’ Association), an apex council of nearly 140 residents associations.
When contacted, a senior PWD official said there is currently no provision to drain the storm water. “There is confusion over where to drain the water as two residents associations are objecting to the discharge of water in their locality,” he said.
The authorities, meanwhile, are bent on not investing much on the stretch, as there is a proposal to develop the road as part of providing connectivity to the Seaport-Airport road, a six-km-long short cut from Vyttila to Kakkanad and Infopark side. Former Tripunithura MLA M Swaraj even obtained an administrative sanction of Rs 10 crore for the road development.
The approval covered the entire stretch from Vyttila-Kaniyampuzha-Eroor RoB to Labour Junction and then to Irumpanam near Traco Cable Company. However, the funds proved inadequate for execution as a preliminary study found that 462 cents (about 4 acres and 62 cents) of land was required to widen the road.
“The fund proved to be grossly inadequate. The critical next step, securing necessary funds, never materialised, which stalled the road-widening project,” a senior PWD official said. The road is just 3-3.5m wide in several sections now.