Even as the decks are being cleared for the high profile launch of the first phase of Kochi Metro Rail by Prime Minister Narendra Modi next month, municipal authorities in Kalamassery, through which the metro passes, are an unhappy lot.
The municipal authorities are fuming that the metro authorities had failed to fulfil their promise to unclog the drainage network and repair the damage caused by metro work before the onset of the monsoon.
The municipality claims that at a meeting held in April, the metro authorities had promised to complete those works in a month.
Kalamassery Municipal Chairperson Jessie Peter complained that the cleaning of canals had been completed only up to the area near KIMS Hospital.
She was concerned that waste water from the canal would overflow onto the road and footpaths in the rain.
Ms. Peter explained how the side walls of buildings got damaged after the National Highway stretch passing through the municipality was elevated, leading to the lowering of drainage on one side. She rang up the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) authorities on Tuesday with the demand to complete the pending work within a week.
The municipality wants the drainage works to be completed to avert waterlogging. The metro authorities were also asked to lay slabs over the drainage to prevent people from dumping waste in it.
Last month, engineers of Kochi Metro Rail Limited, DMRC, and the municipality had conducted a joint inspection to identify the rectification works needed along the stretch. The inspection was carried out between the Metro station at North Kalamassery and Edappally Toll.
Speaking after the inspection, Ms. Peter had set April-end as the deadline for the metro authorities to complete the work.
