KOCHI: Pothole-ridden roads and carelessly closed craters on the stretch between IMG Junction and Infopark main gate are posing a danger to commuters who use the road daily. Techies say the condition of the road which has been unmotorable for over a year, has turned worse in the past three to four months. Accidents have become quite common, especially during rain. And to make matters worse, the municipal authorities are turning a blind eye to the situation.
Akhil P Anil, who relocated to Infopark from Chennai in 2018 says residents are left with no option but to fill the potholes themselves with temporary gravel, which reappear in a few days. “The municipal authorities are throwing dust in the commuters’eye by filling up the gaps in intervals. The work being done is extremely shoddy,” said Akhil.
Techies also say the bad road is giving them frequent back and body pain. “This is especially true for two-wheeler riders, especially when their bikes or scooters suddenly fall into gutters. A woman who works with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) met with an accident here on Monday,” he said.
The dust from the dilapidated road is also a major issue, leaving commuters to the threat of allergies.
The road is also proving dangerous to food delivery boys who frequent the route to have food delivered to techies at Infopark. “Some of the food delivery members would be new to the area and unaware of the gutters in the road. This is extremely dangerous especially when it rains,” he said.
Jam-packed byroads
Many of the commuters are forced to use alternative roads, which are more narrow, which results in huge traffic blocks. Ghanashyam G, an Infopark employee, says the jam-packed alternative routes are proving to be dangerous, especially during the morning hours, when everyone is in a rush to reach their place of work.
The situation is worse for techies who work on regular shifts. The byroads are not navigable from 9am to 11.30am and 5pm to 8pm. The situation is worse between 6pm and 6.30pm. It becomes worse during Fridays, when many opt to leave for their native places for the weekend. " I am forced to leave for work early from my house owing to the heavy rush on the byroad. Many cabs and auto drivers often cancel their trips on the stretch. It is the woman techies who are mostly at the receiving end," said Ghanashyam.
Deepak Suresh, another IT employee said it takes him now 30 minutes to reach Kakkanad from Infopark. “The maintenance work needs to be done at the earliest,” he said. Reji Thomas, an auto driver, said it is impossible to commute from Infopark to Kakkanad during morning and evening hours. “The road should have at least been repaired before the monsoon. We now limit our trips between Carnival Infopark junction and the main gate, affecting our livelihood,” he said.
There is a rising demand for traffic wardens on the Infopark stretch to ease the traffic.
However, Ramsy Jaleel, ward councillor, Edachira, said the road was dug up by the Kerala Water Authority to lay pipelines. “The work is over. It is now the responsibility of the PWD to repair the road,” she said. “The work was done by the KWA for the municipality. We have issued notices to both of them. It is their responsibility,” said a PWD official.
Risky ride
The road is also proving dangerous to food delivery boys who frequent the route to have food delivered to techies at Infopark. This is especially true for those who are not familiar with the stretch
Traffic wardens
There is a rising demand among auto drivers for traffic wardens on the Carnival Infopark Junction and the main gate to ease the traffic flow, especially during the peak hours.