The Kerala High Court has directed the Kochi Corporation to initiate steps without delay to repair and reinstall concrete slabs on the drains of Market Road and to maintain the road.
The court also asked the civic body to tar the road within two months to enable the police to regulate traffic and to reduce congestion.
The police were also directed to deploy adequate number of personnel to regulate traffic and curb illegal parking of vehicles on the flanks of the road.
The police had earlier submitted before the court that sufficient number of ‘no parking’ boards shall be erected on the road. A decision on notifying no-parking areas shall be taken by the Traffic Regulatory Authority, it was submitted.
The police said parallel parking shall be permitted only on one side of the road. They also wanted the corporation to repair the damaged concrete slabs on the drains to avoid accidents.
They suggested that the “imposition of time limit from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the entry and exit of heavy vehicles can be continued and regulated.”
The court noted that a permanent solution to the issue could be found provided all stakeholders acted in tandem. On the miserable condition of roads, the court observed it was a “travesty that none of the civic officials noticed the miserable condition of the slabs over the drainage system until now.”
The court refrained from saying anything further since the government had intervened to address a few issues. The court issued the order on a writ petition filed by traders in the area on illegal parking on the road and the inconvenience it caused to the general public.
