It was 10pm, and the night was chilly after scattered showers. Jose Varkey, 60, was closing his tiny neighbourhood shop in Kadavanthra, the kind of corner store where almost every daily need could be met.
Milk for tomorrow’s breakfast, sugar for an evening cup of tea, a notebook or pen forgotten by a schoolchild, a bunch of bananas, or groceries on credit until payday — Jose rarely turned anyone away.
The last customer to walk in that night was from a nearby apartment. After packing eggs and milk for the next day and noting the bill in his well-worn ‘pattu’ book, Jose pulled down the shutters of his shop.
His wife left first. A couple of minutes later, Jose started his scooter. The plan was to reach home before any possible rain and get a good night’s sleep, as he had to open the store again at 5am the next day to collect and sort the day’s Milma supplies.
However, his journey home was interrupted. “One minute, I was riding my scooter and nearing the Padam bus-stop on K P Vallon Road. The next, I completely blacked out,” he recalls of that fateful night on June 17.
“It is a road I take every day. I know every part of it. But that day, there was a power cut. The streets were completely dark. My vehicle fell into the crater by the roadside.”
He remembers little after that. His cousin and a friend, who happened to be travelling on the same road, found Jose and his scooter lying on the road and immediately rushed him to the hospital. His helmet had come off.
“That long ditch had been there ever since KSEB dug the roadside up to lay cables. I knew three others had fallen into the same ditch. But I never thought I would be the next victim,” Jose smiles.
At the hospital, he was admitted to the ICU with bleeding in the brain, broken ribs and a fractured arm. “Thankfully, the brain bleeding was treated with medication,” says Jose, adjusting his hand sling.
One injury was just a fraction of a millimetre away from his eye. “I later learnt that my eye was bleeding and bulging out. Many actually thought I would lose my eye,” he says.
He underwent plastic surgery to seal the wound. “Now it is healing well. But my shoulder hurts. I can’t stand or work as much as I used to.”
Even now, Jose tries to help at the store, though his wife manages most of the work. “We don’t have insurance. The medical bills amounted to over
` 1 lakh,” says Jose. “Our shop remained closed for two weeks.”
Before Jose’s accident, Thomas A had a crash at the same spot. It was around 8pm on May 9. “There was no warning sign or demarcation. I fell straight into the trap,” he says. “I fractured my arm and couldn’t work for the next two months,” says the 50-year-old contract worker.
Thomas says the crater had been filled with gravel. “I skidded on that and fell,” he adds.
“After that, the crater gradually became bigger. Two more people met with accidents at the same spot. The fourth victim was Jose, who suffered major injuries.”
Thomas says he tracked the contractor via the KSEB office. “But I never got a response,” he fumes.
Joseph, an autorickshaw driver in the area, joins the conversation. “We have now seen several accidents at the same spot. It is high time the authorities concerned intervened,” he says.
Another autorickshaw driver, who prefers not to be named, comments that top officials passing through the road should be blocked midway.
After Jose’s accident on June 17, the ditch was filled with concrete and sand. A hotchpotch job. Within days, it began to crumble.
Local BJP leader K R Venugopal, who had earlier led a protest highlighting the road’s poor condition, says the entire stretch of K P Vallon Road has been in a mess for long.
“It is an important road that connects Kadavanthra junction to Thevara, Panampilly Nagar and Girinagar. It links schools and hospitals too. Yet, the road has been in a state of neglect,” he says.
“Earlier, over a kilometre of the stretch was dug up by the Water Authority. After several protests, that was tarred. But it was such shoddy work that now the road is uneven at many stretches, causing waterlogging and mishaps. Even a basic mason will be able to point out the flaw. The officials who approved the work should be held accountable.”
Kadavanthra councillor Gison George says the previous corporation council had floated a tender to repair corporation roads. “I am trying to ensure that these dangerous spots are also covered under it. But we certainly need an immediate solution to prevent accidents,” he says.
Meanwhile, Jose says his only prayer is that no one else shares the same fate.
Backed by the local community, he is also mulling legal action. “Many people told me I should sue the authorities concerned for compensation. I saw something similar in the film Nna Thaan Case Kodu,” he smiles.
“Ordinary people are suffering because of official apathy. I don’t know the nitty-gritty of filing a case. A lawyer who stays nearby has promised to help.”
Taking note of the case, lawyer Jissmon Joseph says victims in such cases can file a lawsuit against the government departments concerned.
“This case clearly involves a constitutional violation. The government has a responsibility to provide safe roads and safe means of travel,” he says.
“According to the Supreme Court, people using public roads and highways have the right to safe passage. Victims can file a civil suit seeking compensation for physical injuries, mental agony, and financial loss.”
Whether Jose goes to court or not, his plight screams out a helplessness that common people have been silently enduring for long: a lack of accountability.
Inputs from Manisha V C S