Danger lurks in the form of gaping potholes on innumerable roads maintained by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Public Works Department (PWD), and the Kochi Corporation, despite the Kerala High Court repeatedly pulling them up “for failing in their duty to ensure safe mobility to motorists and pedestrians in Kochi city and its suburbs.”
While exhorting two-wheeler riders to be extra cautious while riding through city roads, Foji John, a socio-political activist, said dangerous potholes stared at road users on almost all carriageways. “Most instances of motorists and pedestrians sustaining injuries after falling into potholes do not get reported to the police. Only fatal incidents are reported, following which agencies go the extra mile in repairing a few potholes the very next day. Timely repair work can avert most such accidents,” he said.
NH Bypass
The situation is such that potholes abound even on the 16-km Edappally-Aroor NH Bypass and its service roads, although the NHAI collects hefty toll from motorists using the congested corridor. Sources in the agency attributed it to a combination of non-execution and delayed execution of preventive and pre-monsoon maintenance work by the agency which was entrusted with the task of operation, maintenance, and toll collection in the corridor.
Mayor M. Anilkumar attributed the shoddy condition of a bulk of arterial roads in the city to delay on the part of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), and other agencies in completing trenching work in a time-bound manner. “Even worse, the KWA failed to do temporary restoration, including for pipe-laying work done under the AMRUT project. It must work as per a timeline, at least from the forthcoming working season beginning October,” he said.
On the condition of innumerable side roads that the Corporation maintains, he said instructions had been given to officials to ready a list of roads that needed urgent resurfacing/patch work at the zonal level, so that they could be attended to in a speedy manner. Another list of roads that need regular maintenance will be readied. A running contract model has been planned in this regard, he informed.
Roads and bridges maintained by roads, bridges and NH wings of the PWD are the worst maintained in Kochi. Officials in the agency attributed it to the delay in completing trenching work by the KWA, KSEB, and other agencies and improper restoration and inordinate delay in getting the State government’s administrative sanction to award repair works. “We need at least five to seven days of sunshine to complete patch work, laying of paver blocks, and resurfacing,” they said.
