KOCHI : As Kerala prepares for polls on Friday, residents of Kadalikkad West ward of Manjalloor panchayat and Kosseri Lane in Edappally are planning to boycott the elections due to delays in the restoration of roads leading to their residences. Forty families in Kadalikkad West, Manjalloor, reported that the Nellikunnel Thaazham-Kadalikkad Road leading to their area was demolished for the Vadakod water supply project under the Jal Jeevan Mission, but it was never restored.
The local self-governing authorities have been turning blind eye to the issue for the past two-and-a-half years. Residents expressed frustration at authorities who had promised that the road would be restored promptly after the installation of pipes but failed to follow it up.
V J Vincent, a resident of Kadalikkad West, said, “We approached the panchayat officials multiple times to raise our concerns about transportation. Each time, they repeated the same assurance that construction would start soon. As the problem worsened, including increased vehicle maintenance costs, we were forced to take matters into our own hands,” he said.
The potential poll boycott led to a deputy superintendent-level inquiry by the Election Special Squad, although no political parties have yet addressed the residents’ concerns. Ancy Jose, the president of Manjalloor grama panchayat, clarified that the project lagged due to certain procedures, and it was not a retaliatory action. Meanwhile, fifty families, are planning to not exercise their voting rights demanding the restoration of Kosseri Lane Road.