The Corporation is planning to complete the road repair works of all the divisions under it before the end of March. The civic body will launch the pre-monsoon cleaning operations by April first week, said Corporation works standing committee chairman Soumini Jain.
“The plan fund allocation for road work for each division was increased to `27 lakh this year. We will have to complete the work before March 31 as the funds will get lapsed after that date. So we will initiate the road repair work including that of byroads before March,” she said.
Soumini said the major roads in the city are in good condition as the Corporation, with the help of Kochi Metro Rail Limited and Public Works Department, had succeeded in repairing them on a five-year guarantee basis. “With the rest of the works completing by March end, we hope that a majority of the city roads will be in a good condition,” she said.
Canal Cleaning
Regarding the pre-monsoon cleaning of canals and drains, Soumini said the work would begin by April. “If we will start the de-silting of the drains much before the monsoon, the silt will again get accumulated. Usually monsoon hits Kerala by the end of May or first week of June. So it will be effective if we are carrying out the pre-monsoon cleaning in April, a month prior to monsoon,” she said.
Earlier, the state government too had taken a decision to increase the amount given to each division under the Corporation.
Accordingly, every division will be given ` 25,000 this year, instead of the earlier amount of `10,000. The government also has asked the local bodies to launch the pre-monsoon cleaning activities soon.