The delay in re-tarring and repairing several city roads, dug up for pipe-laying works under the Japan-aided drinking water supply project, is giving a tough time to road-users.
The Corporation had said that the works had been awarded to contractors. But, in many areas, the works had not started.
Some roads had been remaining unattended after the basic filling works. Some were being tarred at a very slow pace. Two-wheeler riders losing balance and falling off were not uncommon, sources said.
“The road has been remaining so for a long time now after the preliminary filling. When vehicles pass, the entire area is engulfed in a cloud of dust,” said Prakash, a native of East Hill. He cited the case of the East Hill-Puthiyangadi road.
The two-kilometre stretch, which was in a good condition before the pipe-laying work, was now heavily potholed. The road was dug up to lay lines for a sewage treatment plant. The plight of several small link roads was also the same, residents said.
Residents’ associations had taken up the issue with Corporation councillors. The council had discussed the issue many times.
Several councillors had asked the Mayor to order stoppage of pipe-laying works, sources said.
M.T. Padma, Opposition leader in the council and councillor from Chalappuram, said the residents were highly infuriated by the frequent digging of roads and the poor maintenance. She said the work stop immediately. It should only start with the consent of the councillors concerned, she said.
In a recent incident, a councillor was forced to intervene and stop pipe-laying work at Athanikkal following protest by residents.
The work was stopped when the contractor was about to dig the road close to a school.
