Actor Jayasurya was unfazed by the criticism directed at him by Mayor Tony Chammany for having filled up a few potholes on city roads on the night of July 20.
“What Tony Chammany thinks about my action doesn’t matter. Take the feedback of the people and if they think that what I did was wrong then I am willing to do anything they say,” Jayasurya told The Hindu .
Social networking sites were brimming with posts in support of the actor on Saturday. Many of the posts poked fun at the Mayor. “Will the Mayor take action for people killing mosquitoes?” and “How dare Jayasurya fill up potholes preserved as decorations for the city?” were a few examples.
The actor justified his action to repair roads at his own expense stating that he felt compelled to do so after he came across news about the death of two bike riders at Kureekkad, Tripunithura, a week ago owing to the bad condition of roads. “For me the sight of potholed roads in this city is nothing new. But that news was the tipping point,” Jayasurya said. He hit the road along with his friends and a lorry load of metal, last Saturday night.
“We filled up some of the “renowned” potholes in the city, including the ones at Menaka Junction, near General Hospital Road, Kadavanthra, Kathrukkadavu Bridge, and Kaloor during a campaign that lasted till early next morning,” the actor said.
“I did it out of love for my city hoping that it would encourage more people to do something about bad roads at least in front of their houses. Even some police officials joined us and why would they do so if what we were doing was illegal,” the actor asked.
Jayasurya said he had done a search on Google and YouTube to check whether some illegality was involved in his action. The actor came across reports of how High Court Judge Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan ventured out with a spade and unclogged the drain near his home to clear inundated roads last June.
Jayasurya said people were not volunteering to do anything precisely because of such a negative attitude that paints an honest effort in bad light.
