The work on some of the roads that were dug up for laying pipes for the sewerage project under the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project is set to miss the deadline again. Earlier, the authorities had missed the September 30 deadline, fixed for resurfacing of six roads within city limits, and they had said that the date had been revised to October 18.
However, with only three days left, it seems that the date will be missed again with officials again putting the blame on incessant rains and long holidays. I n between the two dates, the only work done on these roads was the filling of potholes with metals.
The roads to be tarred in the initial phase include Tali Road, Mooriyad Road, St Vincent Colony Road near Eranhipalam, Chakkorathukulam (stationery godown) - East Hill (Manjunatha Rao) Road, Othayamangalam Road near Karaparamba and the road on the side of Tali pond.
The repeated lapses in the resurfacing of roads come at a time when Urban A f f a i r s M i n i s t e r Manjalamkuzhi Ali had promised that all roads dug up for the sewerage project would be repaired in a time-bound manner. There had been widespread protests following non-repair of several dug-up roads, even months after the pipes were laid for the sewerage project.
The Urban Affairs Minister, during a meeting held on September 13, had asked the KWA and Shriram EPC to prepare a list of dug-up roads and the time schedule for the completion of repair works, in a week. Meanwhile, officials said that the work on the roads would commence only after the rains.