KOCHI: Reshma used to complete the journey to pick up her children from a school in Pachalam in 10 minutes. Now, it takes 20 -- all thanks to the condition of the road in front of Erattakkulangara Kattungal Bhagavathy temple. Despite the stretch badly inconveniencing commuters, Kochi corporation is yet to intervene to carry out repair work.
The situation is not limited to the Pachalam-Vaduthala localities. Almost all divisions under the civic body have roads that need urgent restoration following the monsoon. Although councillors have raised the matter several times, various factors, including hike in the price of bitumen, have delayed the process. The Pottakuzhi road that connects to the Little Flower church road, stretches in Edakochi and Fort Kochi are all in pitiful condition, crying for the attention of authorities.
“We have been continuously raising the matter in council meetings,” Leader of Opposition V A Sreejith said. “All the while, authorities kept delaying the work, citing monsoon. Now, with the rains past us, work remains pending. Roads are in dangerous condition in many locations and need urgent attention.”
The majority of interior roads in the city are owned and managed by the corporation. Major stretches including MG Road, Edappally-Muvattupuzha road, etc., are managed by the Public Works Department.
In addition, some key sections are managed by the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) which include Judges Avenue, Kaloor-Kadavanthra road, Subhash Chandra Bose road, etc.
According to Sujith, an RTI activist, “I sent multiple letters to the corporation secretary seeking reconditioning of Pallikavu road in Vaduthala. The response was hilarious: as per their records, the stretch had been fixed. Those using the road still face immense difficulties.”
“The corporation has entrusted Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS) with surveying its assets and the process has been underway for the past one month,” said Ashraf T K, chairman of the public works standing committee.
“Due to the survey, there was a delay in sanctioning funds for road maintenance. In addition, the high cost of bitumen, following the crisis in the Gulf, affected tender procedures. Bitumen prices are up 70%. To tide over the situation, we have decided to bear the extra cost of bitumen, using the corporation’s own plan funds,” Ashraf told TNIE.
Maintenance work will soon be initiated across all divisions, he added.
