High Court seeks report on missing drain slabs, lack of footpaths

Taking note of the lack of footpaths in the city and drains that did not have covering slabs, the Kerala High Court as asked its amici curiae to inspect the major city roads.

Passing the order, Justice Devan Ramachandran noted that at PNVM Junction, there were two huge openings in the drain, which could injure or even kill a pedestrian who fell into it.

Footpaths were completely missing on the street from Lissie Junction to Kaloor junction, forcing pedestrians to walk on the main road. On the eastern side at Kaloor junction, the drain had been kept open, the court observed.

The judge noted that road safety did not mean the safety of motorists alone but that of of all citizens who used it, especially pedestrians. The importance of safe and sufficient pedestrian paths could not be lost sight of, the judge said.

The court asked the senior government pleader and the standing counsel for the corporation to report on the steps taken by the agency to address the issues.

On the reference made by Vinod Bhatt, one of the amici curiae, that streetlights on various roads including Salim Rajan Bridge and the stretch of the highway from Edappally to Kaloor were most often not lit, the court asked the counsel for the corporation to obtain instructions on the issue.