Kerala - Kochi   

Bad roads make life tough for Kochiites

Staff Reporter

Corporation moots preventive-maintenance wing to repair roads as and when potholes develop

PICTURE OF NEGLECT: The arterial Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road is in an unmotorable condition for months. The dust from the road has been causing health hazards to residents, shopkeepers and motorists. The Greater Cochin Development Authority has done noth ing to relay the dilapidated stretch. Photo: Vipinchandran

KOCHI : The people of Kochi are yet to come to terms with the piecemeal measures taken by the civic agencies to temporarily fill potholes in some arterial roads during the Onam season.

Residents were crying hoarse over the filling of potholes. "I do not understand why each year, road-repair works are kept pending till the first phase of monsoon is over. The potholes will reappear once rainwater seeps into the weak, re-laid area," says Majnu Komath, chairman of the Goshree Action Council.

"Agencies like Kochi Corporation, Public Works Department (PWD) and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) should have carried out pre-monsoon maintenance work of roads, instead of waiting till the small potholes turned into ditches," he said.

Mr. Komath said the Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA) carried out repair works on approach roads to the bridges just a couple of weeks ago.

Troublesome journey

The authority took no steps to fill the holes during summer months, with the result that people going to the islands had a troublesome journey for about a year.

Though huge potholes in some of the arterial roads were filled with a few days left for Thiruvonam, most of the bus routes and side roads were in dilapidated condition.

Similar was the case of footpaths, with the result that pedestrians were forced to walk through the road. This often resulted in accidents.

Private-bus owners, under the banner of Ernakulam District Private Bus Operators' Association, staged a dharna in the city a week back, protesting against the pathetic condition of city roads.

M.B. Satyan, general secretary of the association, said, "potholes on roads have been breaking the leaf springs and axles of buses and causing flat tyres. They also increase wear-and-tear and fuel loss, affecting our daily income. The Government, which collects crores of rupees from vehicle owners as road tax, has not been doing much to maintain roads in motorable condition." Autorickshaw drivers avoided badly-maintained roads. Of the badly-maintained bus routes in the city, the condition of Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road was the worst. The plan of the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) to convert the stretch into a model road was yet to bear fruit. Despite its inability to repair the road, the authority was unwilling to hand over the road to the corporation or the PWD. Residents living on either side of the road were putting up with the dust emanating from the unmotorable road and the Katrikadavu bridge.

The business of shops located on the stretch too was affected because of this. Accidents were common, because of the potholes.

Commuters and bus operators were highlighting the pathetic plight of the Kacheripady-Vaduthala Road, Hospital Road, Chitoor Road, Kaloor-Elamakkara Road, the road which leads from Vathuruthy to the new Mattancherry bridge, the Vytilla-Aroor stretch of the NH 47 bypass and the stretch which connected Panampilly Nagar with Atlantis Junction. This was apart from the numerous other side roads in the city, which were unmotorable.

Maintenance wing

Mayor Mercy Williams said the corporation would set up a preventive-maintenance wing to repair roads as and when potholes develop. "This is because preventive maintenance costs much less than remedial maintenance. Funds for the preventive-maintenance wing will be earmarked in the coming budget. We are also taking steps to hold road contractors accountable for the work that they do. The names of contractors who relay road works will be displayed in the offices of the corporation. Steps will be taken to ensure that water from the roads flows into the drains," she said.

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