Faced with public outcry over the shabby condition of roads in the city and the suburbs, District Collector K. Mohammed Y. Safirulla has sought better coordination among agencies that own roads and those that dig them up for laying pipelines and cables.
On Sunday, a woman riding pillion on a two-wheeler lost her life after she fell down from the vehicle while it encountered a pothole on Civil Line Road. She was run over by a private bus. Public Works Department (PWD) officials said the huge pothole was among the many left unattended by the firm engaged in laying LPG pipelines in the city.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Safirulla said roads were often dug up soon after they were surfaced. “This happens due to lack of coordination between officials of different departments. The slack coordination also results in ambiguity in preparing the estimate for restoration works. I had to convene five meetings the past week to discuss the issue. For now, road-digging works have been kept in abeyance,” he said.
Very often, potholes on the other side are unattended when one side of the road is restored after being dug up. This too can be overcome through better coordination.
Deadline
On the delay in repairing potholed roads, he said around 40 such corridors had been identified. “Officials are citing rain as a reason for delay in some areas. They have been asked to complete all repair works by the month-end since the initial deadline of August-end could not be adhered to.”
Both the PWD and the Kochi Corporation have been allotted funds to restore damaged roads prior to the city hosting FIFA Under-17 matches.
“The Corporation alone has been given ₹2 crore for three roads, of which ₹1.20 crore is meant to make the crucial Thammanam-Pullepady Road motorable,” he said.
A PWD official said tenders had been awarded for repairing Civil Line Road, Park Avenue Road and High Court-Goshree Bridge Road. “The 700-metre-long severely-damaged Vyttila-Kunnara Park Road will be covered with concrete tiles in a month, using ₹1.87 crore set apart under Sabarimala road repair work project. The road in front of Law College too will be covered using tiles.”
“All roads owned by us will be restored within a month,” said P.M. Harris, the chairman of Corporation’s works standing committee. “I have been holding meetings with contractors every day. Some delay has happened since some contractors are refusing to take up works, citing delay in clearing dues and seeking rate revision due to implementation of the Goods and Services Tax,” he said.
Mr. Harris sought State government funds to resurface busy roads using bituminous macadam bituminous concrete (BMBC) technology.
Vyttila-Pettah stretch
“The Kochi Metro Rail Limited has agreed to repair damaged parts of the Kunnara Park (Vyttila)-Pettah Road where the road is being widened to begin metro works,” said P. Rajeev, Ernakulam district secretary of the CPI(M).
“Officials and engineers must take prompt measures to repair roads and drains. They must also change their mindset and focus on preventive maintenance, so that vulnerable roads are reinforced well before the annual monsoon,” he said.
