THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite the state government’s promise to repair the Kallattumukku-Kamaleswaram road of the Attakulangara- Thiruvallam stretch before March 31, work here has reached nowhere. The road has been in a dilapidated state for the past several months.
The delay in constructing a proper drainage system is the main reason for the issue. Even after the said deadline, about 50 per cent of the work is still pending. According to Public Works Department (PWD) officials, the road can be repaired only after the drains are constructed.
“We have completed the drainage system on one side of the road. The work on the other side will begin soon,” said Ajith Ramachandran, chief engineer of roads, PWD. “The repair work of the road can be carried out only after blocking the road.
But we could not do it due to opposition from the motorists. The district collector, too, had instructed that the road should not be blocked for the repair work. Hence, the work was carried out along with the traffic. It also led to the delay,” Ajith added. However, PWD officials expect to finish the repair work before the start of the monsoon. “We are planning to finish the work by May 21 so that the road can be readied before the monsoon,” Ajith said.
Potholes and waterlogging
Meanwhile, huge potholes on the road are giving nightmares to motorists. Though the previous government had sanctioned the work on raising the height of the road and the cleanup of drains, no progress has been made thus far. The state government had sanctioned a sum of Rs 6.67 crore for constructing a drain and carrying out allied work to prevent waterlogging on the stretch.
Though the PWD carried out patchwork repairs in some sections of the road near Kamaleswaram earlier, capillary water causes waterlogging in many areas. The residents have been battling the issue for the past 25 years. The situation got even worse with the emergence of giant potholes after last year’s monsoon. The 4.23-kilometre stretch, which connects the MG Road with the NH-66 bypass, is used by tourists to travel to Kovalam from East Fort after visiting Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple.