Drop vindictive action in Kochi flyover fiasco
Kochi’s two newly built flyovers were opened on Saturday, with CM Pinarayi Vijayan performing the inauguration online from the Kerala capital. Two separate functions—one for each flyover—were organised in Kochi too, attended in person by a Cabinet minister and a few people’s representatives. After the speeches, the dignitaries went on a ceremonious drive on the flyovers.
A typical inauguration that satisfied the politicians concerned and one that brought relief to people in the congested city, but what left an unpleasant aftertaste was the action taken against some people for an incident four days earlier in which vehicles were allowed to get on to one of the flyovers. Several members of V4Kerala, an apolitical platform that contested the recent Kochi Corporation polls, were arrested and charged with various offences.
Its leader was denied bail and sent to jail after the dramatic midnight arrest. It was said the group removed the barricades barring entry of vehicles in protest against the delay in the flyover’s opening. It’s an unwritten rule in India that public projects, built with taxpayers’ money, cannot be put to use until officially inaugurated by politicians.
While the CM’s prerogative to open the flyovers and take credit need not be challenged given his government’s initiative to decongest the city, questions need to be asked whether ready-to-use flyovers were kept out of bounds of the public pending a formal opening. Considering the huge inconvenience caused by the construction work at the two junctions—one of them the busiest in the state—it was imperative that the flyovers were opened as soon as they were ready.
The delay, if any, is certainly indefensible. Though it came across as irresponsible, the act of removal of barricades did not warrant the drastic action that the police resorted to. The offences charged against the arrested—including rioting, trespass and destruction of public property—are unlikely to stick and, in any case, there don’t seem to be enough grounds to deny bail. The action smacked of vindictiveness and didn’t behove a democratically elected government. Ideally, it should let the incident pass and consider it as a lesson on why it is unwise to test people’s patience.