A permanent solution to the worsening solid waste management problem and infrastructure woes facing Ernakulam figures top on the electoral wish list of voters this Lok Sabha election.
The people whom The Hindu spoke to on Monday were unanimous in their view that Kochi had nothing major to claim in terms of basic infrastructure and development, except for its ‘metro city’ tag.
“What is the point in calling Kochi a metro city when it does not even have a proper mechanism in place to process its garbage,” asked P. Rangadasa Prabhu, president, Ernakulam District Residents Associations Apex Council (EDRAAC).
“Garbage menace is here to remain, and it is likely to grow into a much bigger issue in the days to come. Despite many claims, the waste-to-energy plant is yet to become a reality at Brahmapuram,” he said.
Urging political parties and the bureaucracy to evolve a permanent solution to the vexed issue, Mr. Prabhu said the metro city lacked basic requirements like drinking water, uninterrupted power supply, good roads, and clean and safe air and water.
T. Jayachandran of CICC Books said Kochi’s potential for infrastructure development had not been explored even to the minimum, except for a few roads, buildings, and apartments.
“We have not been able to scale up the development possibilities of facilities like shipyard, Vallarpadam terminal, and Infopark. Kochi is yet to have even a cancer research centre,” he added.
Maintaining that the utilisation of Central funds was not up to the mark, Mr. Jayachandran said elected representatives and successive governments had failed to generate jobs for people through innovative projects.
‘Lack of vision’
“Do we have a car-manufacturing facility, leave alone a bike manufacturing plant here?” he asked. Mr. Jayachandran lamented that most MPs lack a development perspective and vision. “Except for being a transit point for travellers moving towards places like Munnar and Thekkady, Kochi has not tapped into its true potential in the tourism sector,” he said.
Dejo Kappan, a consumer welfare expert, suggested that elected representatives focus on scaling up the potential of water transport in Kochi.
“It is cheap and time-saving. The Kochi metro will have given the city its metro status. But lack of parking facilities near metro stations has resulted in only a section of the people utilising the facility,” he said.
Mr. Kappan was of the view that enhanced water transport facilities would improve connectivity between Kochi and other places. Moreover, it will cut down the time taken to reach a destination when traffic snarls are the order of the day,” he said.
