The Kochi Corporation is facing flak for not repairing many potholed roads under its jurisdiction, despite them holding up traffic and oftentimes causing accidents.
The agency had recently done patchworks of Thammanam-Pullepady Road and a few other roads, while leaving many busy side roads in severely-potholed condition. They include those that were frequented by goods carriers.
The president of Ernakulam District Residents Association Apex Council (EDRAAC), Rangadasa Prabhu, lamented that almost 50% of roads under the civic agency were in bad condition, endangering the life of motorists and pedestrians. “The Corporation has failed to even carry out patchworks, although the problem was brought to their notice. It has also failed to procure a mobile pothole-repair machine that had been promised repeatedly. Such machines are used in many cities to repair potholes before they turn big and pose danger to road users. The funding of agencies like CSML can be sought to procure it and also to repair roads.”
Yet another problem was that road-owning agencies often raised the level of roads, rather than scoop out the tarred portion and reuse it. This resulted in dirty water that overflew from the drains entering houses and shops, Mr. Prabhu added.
With repair works evading many Corporation-owned roads for years, they have begun to cause accidents and also damage to vehicles, including those carrying schoolchildren. A case in point is Haritha Road in Division 46 (Chakkaraparambu), where Gopikrishna Elayadom, a young IT professional, suffered a dislocated shoulder bone after falling off from his two wheeler after encountering a gaping pothole near his house. “He is under treatment and is facing acute pain even when one touched the shoulder or applied ice. A woman two-wheeler rider too met with an accident on the potholed stretch,” said Sasikumar, his father.
On their part, contractors rued that they were unable to raise funds to bid for repair works, since the Corporation had not cleared their ‘own fund’ dues for 42 months, dating back to as early as 2019.
“The agency now says that the dues will be cleared only by March. Even worse, the rate of raw materials has almost doubled during the time span, while workers insist that they be paid wages on a daily basis. This has resulted in upkeep of roads and drains encountering a stalemate,” said an office-bearer of Kerala Government Contractors’ Federation.
Admitting that the Corporation was facing dire cash shortage, informed sources said the situation could be overcome if the State government paid its rightful share of dues worth around ₹250 crore.
