The Hindu : Kerala News : Pathetic condition of roads: people avoiding trips to city

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Friday, Nov 24, 2006
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Kerala

Pathetic condition of roads: people avoiding trips to city

Staff Reporter

PWD, City Corporation, NHAI blame it on `unpredictable rain'

KOCHI : The pathetic conditions of city roads and the resultant backbreaking ride have forced people to avoid trips to the city.

Agencies like the Public Works Department (PWD), Corporation of Kochi and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) have for long been citing `unpredictable rain' as an excuse to justify the inordinate delay in relaying roads. The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) and the Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA), which face unprecedented flak from people and different organisations for the pathetic condition of the Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road and the approach roads to the Goshree bridges, are echoing the same excuse. That none of these agencies bothered to carry out mandatory pre-monsoon repair works during summer months, is a different thing. Says T.U. Varghese, a resident of Thripunithura: "I have made a conscious decision to avoid venturing into the city for shopping and eating out with family. Potholed and narrow roads and bridges slow down traffic. There are many like me here who confine shopping to Thripunithura. The maximum they go is to shops located along the NH bypass.'' Traders lament the fact that the agencies concerned are not serious about ensuring the quality of roads. "A ride through Jew Street and Market Road, which run close to the M.G. Road, would prove that a shabby work has been carried out. Potholes develop within months of roads being laid," says Abraham C. Paul, a businessman. "This despite the fact that traders contribute a good share of Government revenue."

The PWD (NH) has been dithering on relaying the stretch, which connects the NH bypass with Palarivattom Junction, despite gaping potholes slowing down the movement of traffic. The Ernakulam North overbridge and portions in the Edapally-Thevara stretch too are badly maintained.

Sources in the department failed to answer when asked why the huge potholes were not being filled at least temporarily. Some portions of the road at Palarivattom have caved in, which speaks volumes of the work carried out here. The proposal to set up a preventive-maintenance wing (to carry out timely repair works) in the department has been hanging fire for the past many years.

On its part, the corporation's endeavour to fill potholes using a mixture of cement and metal has not yielded the desired results, since vehicles are allowed to ply over the filled portion immediately. The Sahodaran Aiyyapan Road and the South overbridge are examples. Most corporation-maintained roads, including the arterial Chitoor Road, are in bad shape. The preventive-maintenance wing mooted by Kochi Mayor Mercy Williams is a non-starter.

With people avoiding travel to the city, businesses have been affected like never before.

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