KOCHI: Every year, during the monsoon, every motorist and pedestrian in Kochi has the same set of laments. The city's arterial roads wither away with numerous potholes that test the driving skills of motorists, especially two-wheelers. With the pandemic having slowed down repair works in the last year, the city is looking at a more pathetic scenario.
Many motorists and pedestrians have narrowly escaped serious accidents. But commuters point out that taking shortcuts to bypass the traffic on main roads has become a risky business now. "Interior roads are not safe at all. Apart from deep potholes along the side of the roads, many holes dug up by Kerala Water Authority (KWA) to lay their pipelines have been lying open for a while. Though their work is over, they haven’t taken the effort to cover them," said Bipin VK, a student from Karukappilly.
Apart from Ponoth Road which was dug up by KWA, stretches of YMJ Road, Stadium Link Road and Market Road are in shambles. "I have been running a hotel for over 10 years in the city. Despite people staying indoors due to the lockdown, the government hasn’t taken any measures to repair it. I have personally seen bikes skidding on potholes and youngsters making narrow escapes," said Vineetha G.
Antony Rex, a workshop owner in Kaloor, said be it NHAI, GCDA or Kochi Corporation, road maintenance is the least of their priorities. "The deep pothole on Stadium Link Road, Kaloor, has not been fixed all these years. There were many instances where we rushed to rescue the children who fell on the road. I have managed to help another student who met with an accident on the NH stretch near Edappally Junction recently," he said.
Blame games continue
Despite the continuous pleas from the public, officials are yet to take responsibility for the condition of the roads. "We have been assessing the condition of city roads pre and post-monsoon. There are a few roads that require complete relaying. As we had multiple agencies maintaining these roads, timely repair becomes uncoordinated and hence impractical. Still, we are hoping to repair the stretches right after the monsoon," said a Kochi Corporation official. KWA officials claimed that the compensation for the roads they damaged has already been paid to the Kochi Corporation in advance.
"Apart from stretches coming under Amrut project, other departmental works commence only after remitting the prescribed fee for repair. Though we alert the respective departments right after we wrap up work, we don’t know why the corporation is delaying repair," said a KWA engineer. PWD officials pointed out that major city roads coming under the purview of the department are being repaired on time.
"We have ensured a mechanism to monitor roads under PWD at regular intervals. Besides, the public has also been alerting us about the patch works. Renovation of pathways in Kaloor is one such initiative where the department worked in sync with the common man’s suggestions. We are planning to come up with similar initiatives in future," said an official.
P Rangadasa Prabhu, president, Ernakulam District Residents Associations Apex Council (EDRAAC).
It’s become a habit for officials to cite monsoon and other climatic changes as the reason for the poor quality roads. We are hoping the new Corporation council will take a detailed look into the matter and ensure necessary actions to ensure safe travel for passengers
Felix J Pulludan, president, Greater Cochin Development Watch
Officials need to take a coordinated approach to resolve an issue falling under multiple departments. Kochi Corporation can play a vital role in the matter and ensure the timely repair of all roads owned by different agencies in the city