Lack of timely maintenance on the Sahodaran Ayyappan (SA) Road is causing serious accidents on this arterial road in the city.
On Monday, a car driver lost control over his vehicle after it fell into one of the huge potholes on the western side of Janatha Junction on SA Road. The car fell into a drain nearby. Higher ups in the Corporation blamed the Kerala Water Authority for pipeline bursts that happened here, which led to the road caving in. Even months after the pipeline burst, which was followed by a string of road accidents, the Corporation did nothing to fill the caved-in area and resurface the portion.
The agency has also been unable to speed up work on resurfacing the 3.5-km-long road that links Vytilla with Pallimukku.
The agency has not posted sufficient number of workers to complete the road and drain works before the monsoon.
This has been causing huge traffic hold-ups at Kadavanthra, Elamkulam and also at the western side of Vytilla Junction. The uneven width of the road at different areas, haphazard parking and encroachments by shops located on either side, have made matters worse.
Deputy Mayor C. K. Manisankar said that the work on widening and upgrading the road would go on as scheduled, despite the contractor passing away a week ago. “The road resurfacing work would begin from Vytilla. We would have to issue notice to remove encroachers and vendors from the SA Road, its footpath and other stretches. But the police can do it even without such procedures. The police should also ensure that its recovery vans tow away cars and other vehicles parked haphazardly on city roads and footpaths.”
Vendors selling paan, lottery tickets and other wares are fast encroaching into busy junctions in the city like the one at Vytilla. Unauthorised autorickshaw stands is another problem in junctions.
Permission denied
Meanwhile, the Railways have denied permission to the Corporation to modify the South overbridge. “It took over a year for the Railways to communicate the matter to us and to suggest building a new bridge in its place,” Mr. Manisankar said.
The work on resurfacing the Edapally-Thevara Road using JNNURM funds has been held up because of the KSEB's inability to complete cable-laying works on time. To the question on the proposal to introduce a mobile-repair unit to repair potholes on city roads as and when they develop, Mr Manisankar said that this would be impractical and beyond the means of the Corporation. “Perhaps, the PWD can come up with such a unit.”
