With the retreating monsoon expected to linger on till the end of November, repairs to Moulana Azad Road are likely to be delayed further.
The broken road lies between Panayappilly and Mattancherry police station.
The Kerala Water Authority, which has completed laying a 315-mm pipeline along this reach of the busy road linking Thoppumpady and the rest of West Kochi, is yet to begin work on providing inter-connections from the mainline.
Water Authority sources said the pipeline work could not be taken up in wet conditions. This was the reason for the delay, they said.
An earlier understanding was that the work would be taken up early in November to enable tarring of the road in December.
Member of the Kochi Corporation Council M.H.M. Ashraf said the road had been in a shambles for nearly seven months now.
He said, in a recent meeting convened by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry the authorities concerned had assured that the pipeline work would be completed at the earliest.
The condition of the road had prompted residents’ associations and trade bodies in West Kochi to launch protests, including a march to the office of the Water Authority early last month.
Mr. Ashraf said there was still no assurance on when the road would be re-laid and tarred. He claimed roadworks would cost more than the present estimate of Rs.24 lakh.
