That’s a bump! Danger that lurks on Kochi’s fast lanes
KOCHI: “It’s like hitting an invisible wall,” says Jolly C D, an autorickshaw driver, pointing to the large bumps that have developed on the Sahodaran Ayyappan Road. More specifically, around where the metro pillars fall. At Manorama Junction, where Jolly plies his autorickshaw, the bumps are particularly conspicuous.
There are two there — one at the foot of the eastern end of the South railway overbridge and the other right in the middle of the junction. Each rises three or four inches above the road surface and “sits like a block of marble”, another autorickshaw driver chips in.
“But we have gotten used to them,” he says. And who wouldn’t, asks Jolly. “For one, it’s been there for close to two years. Two, it had wrecked our autorickshaws and our health. So yes, we have gotten used to them, and we avoid them like it’s some kind of demon,” he adds.
To him, how this has gone unnoticed by the authorities is a mystery. “Nobody has bothered to fix it, despite this being a big junction on an arterial city road,” Jolly says.
“There have been many accidents,” points out the other autorickshaw driver. “Around two months ago, one of the autos plying from our stand overturned.”
Lulu Paul, the proprietor of a tea shop at the junction, says the accidents, not all of them minor, spiked during the holiday season.“It’s first-timers in Kochi, especially youngsters on bikes, who meet with accidents the most,” he says.
“I too had a near accident some time ago. Sometimes, you don’t recall the fact that these bumps exist. And this is despite me being a local,” Lulu adds.
Annson Mathews, another local resident, too, has had a similar scare. In addition to the severe mental stress it wrought on him, his bike also suffered serious damage.
“I didn’t topple over, thankfully, because I was not going very fast. Now, imagine if someone was,” he says, leaving the obvious unsaid.
But according to Edward M F, the owner of a department store, one need not leave anything to imagination.
“You see it every day. This stretch, from Kadavanthra to Pallimukku, is a nearly 2-km-long unbroken road. At night, bikers speed through it. These bumps are extremely dangerous,” he stresses.
The danger is compounded by a lack of warning signs.
“Even potholes are discernible from a distance. But not these bumps. And because the metro pillars sit on the median, the bumps form around them — on the fast lane,” explains Antony Sebastian, a city doctor.
Raigon Stanley, another local resident, flags an often-overlooked risk.
“This road is dotted with hospitals, and several ambulances regularly ply here. Leaving the bumps so, despite repeated accidents, is like inviting tragedy. Any vehicle can overturn,” Raigon said.
Recently, a four-wheeler did, local residents say.
The problem, however, is not confined to the Sahodaran Ayyappan Road. TNIE found similar bumps strewn across the city — wherever the metro pillar falls. Notably, near the North railway overbridge, near Changampuzha Park, and at Pathadippalam.
Why do these bumps form?
Offering a glimpse into why these bumps form, Shreeganesh V Nair, chief consultant of an engineering consultancy firm, says, “Ernakulam, especially this stretch, was once marshland. Beneath the surface are layers of moving clay. So, this is already not a good foundation to build anything on.”
“Regardless, we built city roads, and more recently, a string of metro pillars. Although the latter rests on deep, solid foundations, the adjoining road does not. The soil was already disturbed during the metro piling work. Add daily traffic load, and the prolonged stress causes the road to settle unevenly, forming bumps,” he explains.
Interestingly, similar issues are largely absent on the Edappally-Aluva stretch, despite a continuous line of metro pillars.
“That’s because an under-drainage soil stabilisation system was build there since it’s a highway. City roads lack this, though, ideally, they shouldn’t,” the engineering expert says.
Not a shortcoming of metro work
When asked if this is a shortcoming of the metro work, Shreeganesh answers in the negative.
“It’s beyond the scope of the metro. They were required only to build service roads to ensure traffic movement, not reinforce entire road foundations,” he says.
“But a good civic sense should have prevailed. After all, you can only build it once — at the time of the metro construction,” he adds.
These bumps, the expert warns, are likely to recur, and stretches under Kochi Metro’s phase II line to Kakkanad may face the same fate.