Kadavanthra Junction turns into a ‘road rage’ spot of the city every evening. Snarl-ups, blaring horns, and nasty altercations between drivers are a daily affair here, especially after the policemen on duty leave after their day shift.
Why the mess? All thanks to the defunct traffic signal lights on the Sahodaran Ayyappan Road stretch towards Vyttila. This means vehicles heading towards Girinagar or Pallimukku have to risk collisions and cut the traffic flow from the Panampilly Nagar side. Thus ensues skirmishes.
Similar chaos persists at the Thevara Ferry Junction, too, where traffic signals are either non-functional or poorly timed. Notably, both these trouble spots drew the attention of the State Human Rights Commission, which recently directed the corporation secretary and the district police chief to take immediate corrective action. Nothing visible yet, though.
Assistant Commissioner (Traffic) Mohamed Nizar points to technicalities involved regarding the maintenance of the traffic signal systems. “In the case of Kadavanthra, the traffic lights were installed under the Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML). The issue is a major one, caused by the collapse of underground cables, making repairs expensive,” he explains.
“Keltron is responsible for servicing. However, Keltron officials argue that the maintenance has been halted due to pending payments from CSML.”
Meanwhile, the traffic signals at Thevara Ferry junction were installed using MLA funds. “Maintenance work was abruptly stopped after the annual maintenance contract (AMC) expired,” says Mohamed.
“The police department does not have separate funds for such maintenance work. In the case of the non-functioning traffic signals at Thevara Ferry junction, around `1.07 lakh is required for repairs. We have submitted a request for the same to the Kerala Road Safety Authority (KRSA).”
Who is responsible?
Police officers maintain that they are merely custodians of the system and not directly responsible for maintenance. “A common citizen’s interaction with a uniformed official is usually with a traffic policeman on duty. So, the public blaming the police is understandable,” says an inspector. “They are not aware of the technical processes or the agencies involved behind the scenes."
When a signal is damaged or requires urgent maintenance, police officers often reach out informally to officials of the agencies that installed the system or were responsible for their upkeep.
“In some cases, emergency repairs are carried out based on personal contacts, but such arrangements end once formal procedures are required,” says the inspector.
“This can lead to public confusion. People wonder how a signal that was working fine the previous night suddenly stops functioning.”
The root of the problem, the officer adds, lies with the AMCs between the installing agencies and those responsible for upkeep. “This includes expired contracts, delayed payments and pending dues,” the officer notes.
Blame game continues
While the police attribute the issue to technical rigmarole, officials from the other departments and agencies continue to pass the buck.
A senior CSML official maintains that there are “no pending dues to Keltron”. The current disruption, he says, could be due to other factors, including plans to discontinue the existing maintenance contract and float a fresh tender.
An accounts officer with the KRSA says there is a directive that the custodian of a project must maintain the ‘status quo’ of the systems by meeting maintenance expenses upfront and then reporting the matter to claim reimbursement.
“Typically, the public works department, police, or municipal bodies can submit maintenance proposals to the KRSA, which are approved after due deliberation. However, due to staff shortages at the KRSA, the responsibility for approving traffic signal maintenance proposals was proposed to be transferred to the Motor Vehicles Department. But, the requisite government order was never issued,” the official adds.
“As a result, it was decided in the last meeting that the authorities concerned should carry out maintenance by using their own funds and later claim reimbursement.”
Echoing this, another KRSA official notes that “no request has been received regarding the Kadavanthra traffic signal issue in recent years”.
“The last such request dates back to 2021-22. We understand that the Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) for the Kadavanthra traffic signal was valid from 2019 to 2023, and has since expired,” the official says.
“In this situation, the city police is expected to bear the maintenance cost initially and submit bills.”
Meanwhile, the rage continues to simmer.