Potholed roads in Kochi give commuters, pedestrians a harrowing time

Innumerable roads maintained by the Kochi Corporation, the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) and the Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA) in the city are ridden with potholes, making commuting a nightmare. Potholes, traffic snarls & accidents common. EDRAAC, NGOs protest

Innumerable roads maintained by the Kochi Corporation, the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) and the Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA) in the city are ridden with potholes, making commuting a nightmare.

Not much effort was made to properly restore them during the summer months or in June-July when there was little rain. An agitation by contractors demanding that the Corporation clear long-pending dues made matters worse, with ill-maintained stretches witnessing traffic snarls and accidents.

The Ernakulam District Residents’ Associations Apex Council (EDRAAC) and several NGOs have been highlighting the shoddy condition of arterial corridors such as the Thammanam-Karnakodam stretch of the Thammanam-Pullepady Road, which the Corporation had assured would be restored before the monsoon. The condition of Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road, the sole arterial road maintained by the GCDA, is no better. Similarly, motorists and Vypeen-based NGOs have been aggrieved over the shoddy condition of GIDA-owned Goshree bridges and their approach roads.

Alarmed at frequent accidents on Kundannoor bridge that links Kundannoor Junction with Thevara, EDRAAC held a dharna near the bridge on Friday, to protest against the apathy of the Public Works department (NH wing) in repairing potholes on the 1.90-km-long structure. It was inaugurated by EDRAAC secretary D.G. Suresh, who decried the agency’s apathy despite a young two-wheeler rider getting killed in a recent accident on the bridge. Chairman of the Corporation’s town planning standing committee P.R. Reneesh was among those who spoke.

The situation is such that many busy roads owned by the Kochi Corporation, including those that take off eastward from the Edappally-Aroor NH Bypass and pass through vast residential areas, are in dilapidated condition, due to slack upkeep and delay in restoring them after being trenched for laying LPG pipelines.

A councillor who is a member of the civic agency’s public works standing committee had assured that all potholed corridors in his ward would be repaired within a day of the recent spate of rains. But little was done despite there being no rain in the city since Wednesday.

Mayor M. Anilkumar said most arterial roads under the Corporation, mainly in the central business district, were well maintained. “Roads in a few divisions have to be repaired, while Mullaserry Canal Road beside M.G. Road will be restored once the Irrigation department hands it over to the civic body. Aimed at preventive maintenance of roads, efforts are under way to procure a mobile pothole-filling unit, if needed, by availing Cochin Smart Mission Limited [CSML] funds,” he added.