Walkway maintained by Cochin Port Authority in dire need of upkeep

Kochi's backwater walkways in dire need of upkeep, highlighting the importance of green open spaces for city's sustainability.

Many expansive walkways along the backwaters in Kochi like the approximately two-km long walkway maintained by Cochin Port Authority (CPA) in the southern side of the Kundannur Bridge-Mattancherry BOT Bridge stretch in Willingdon Island, are in dire need of upkeep.

Urban planners and votaries for more open spaces and green lungs in Kochi have over the years been expressing concern at such dwindling spaces in the city and its suburbs for families and others to take a stroll or to unwind.

The president of Kerala Nature Protection Council, C M Joy, said Kochi is among the few cities in the country that are bearing the brunt of unplanned development and fast-shrinking open spaces. “It is in such a grim situation that agencies that own and maintain walkways and promenades ought to ensure that the existing ones are maintained well. Steps must also be taken to increase their number and to plant trees on them, since Kochi is uniquely blessed with backwaters and other waterbodies on all sides, where there is immense potential for such spaces to take a stroll. This must be done in a planned manner and in proportion to the number of people residing here.”

Sadly, many walkways and most footpaths in the city are not maintained well, necessitating renovation every few years. This in turn gives rise to corruption and subsequent wastage of public funds. Policy makers and others must take note of the fact that people need vast and green open spaces to get their doze of fresh air and exercise, to stay healthy and fit. Steps must also be taken to plant mangroves, since tens of thousands of such plants that covered the waterfront were mercilessly destroyed, under the guise of development projects. This lopsided development is not good and a master plan must be readied in order to ensure well-maintained open spaces, he added.

The long-term sustainability and prosperity of any city is to a large extent determined by the quantity and quality of pedestrian and bicycling spaces, since they are crucial for the overall wellness of the city in terms of health, economy and less emissions. In fact, creation of a sustainable city should start from prioritising pedestrian spaces, said May Mathew, a city resident who retired as Senior Town Planner from the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA).

Kochi is uniquely blessed with coastal-regulation zone (CRZ)-affected areas beside water bodies that can be converted to pedestrian spaces/walkways, she said and referred to how the GCDA had in 2017-’18 proposed to the State Government a 6.5-km long pedestrian space/walkway from the Kaniampuzha riverside at Vyttila Mobility Hub up to Infopark, which is yet to be sanctioned. As a beneficiary of Smart Cities and Amruth Cities programme, such projects must be prioritised, Ms Mathew added.

Stating that the overgrowth of weeds on either side of its walkway in Willingdon Island was a cause for concern, sources in Cochin Port Authority said that a new contractor has been shortlisted to preen up the entire stretch and to do necessary maintenance works.