The Hindu 28.09.2010
Roads in city in a bad shape
Staff Reporter
OBSTACLE COURSE: Gaping potholes dot the Kaniampuzha Road in Vytilla. The proposed bus terminal at Vytilla is expected to come on the road's southern side.—
KOCHI: People tend to travel less in the rainy season, but not in Kochi. They travel more, thanks to potholed arterial and side roads that force them to circumnavigate through roads that are in relatively-better condition. Though roads get potholed every monsoon, seldom have they become as unmotorable as now.
Even roads passing through residential colonies have not been repaired, despite residents' associations and their apex councils taking up the issue with the Corporation of Kochi and the PWD.
KTM affected
This time, the PWD's ineptitude in repairing the High Court-Goshree bridges road resulted in thousands of people, including foreign delegates attending the Kerala Travel Mart in the Bolghatty Palace Hotel being forced to travel through the back-breaking stretch that is also used by lakhs of islanders. The issue even featured in many formal interactions at the event, with a delegate wondering why agencies blame the rains for delay in repairing roads in the State.
“Why can't they reinforce roads during the dry spell from October to March so that they can withstand the rains,” asked one of them. The organizers blamed the PWD for not heeding their repeated requests to repair the road leading to the mart's venue.
Government agencies have been blaming the slushy soil in Kochi for roads getting damaged even in a minor downpour. But they ran out of excuses when asked about the South overbridge maintained by the Corporation, the Menaka Bridge and the bridge at Chembumukku on the Civil Line Road - both owned by the PWD, developed huge potholes in the rain.
The Kaniampuzha Road at Vytilla that passes beside the proposed bus terminal cum mobility hub in Vytilla is in an unmotorable condition for over two months.
Thus, many people are forced to circumnavigate through Eroor and Vennala to reach areas north of the NH bypass.
Similarly, commuters who fear getting caught in traffic snarls near the South overbridge prefer to travel a few kilometers extra and reach MG Road through the Kadavanthra-Kaloor Road and the North overbridge.
Resurfacing needed
A PWD engineer said that all Corporation of Kochi-maintained roads must be upgraded and resurfaced using bituminous macadam and bituminous concrete, instead of the 20-mm and 40-mm chipping concrete surfacing being done now.
“Only then will contractors with modern equipments bid for the works. All arterial and major side roads in the city and their drains can be upgraded in a phased manner, so that people need not endure a nightmarish ride during the monsoons. This would also reduce traffic snarls,” the official said.
