Urban planners and Corporation authorities are yet to wake up to the lag caused by infrastructure inadequacies in Kozhikode even as various agencies laud the city for emerging as the leading employment provider among Tier 3 cities in India.

A study on “Emerging  employment centres in Tier II and Tier III cities,” carried out under the aegis of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, revealed that Kozhikode was the top employment provider among Tier 3 cities in the fourth quarter of the previous financial year. The results of the study released in April show that information-technology- enabled services, automobile, banking, engineering and insurance sectors created the most jobs in the city.

The growing employment opportunities sharpen the focus on a few daunting tasks before civic planners. Some of these stem from the merger of the Beypore, Elathur and Cheruvannur-Nallalam grama panchayats with the City Corporation more than a year ago. The planners also need to think of providing a support mechanism to the neighbouring Olavanna grama panchayat, which caters for a large number of families depending on the city daily.

The city contributes 22-23 per cent of the population of the district. It used to show only a moderate increase in population before the three grama panchayats were merged with the civic body. Now there is a possibility of more panchayats getting merged within a decade.

The population of Kozhikode city was 4.19 lakh in 1991 and 4.36 lakh in 2001. The 2011 Census counted it as 4.48 lakh. The projected population is 4.61 lakh in 2021 and 4.76 lakh in 2031. Here are the population figures for Elathur: 36,410 (1991), 41,326 (2001), 45,045 (2011), 48,576 (2021) and 52,705 (2031); Beypore: 56,505 (1991), 66,895 (2001), 75,176 (2011), 86,926 (2021) and 1,02,164 (2031); and Cheruvannur-Nallalam: 50,556 (1991); 57,110 (2001); 62,044 (2011); 69,353 (2021) and 78,556 (2031).

Hitherto, the planners have not given serious thought to the deficiencies in development and ways to tap the growth potential of the city. Two major problems experienced by citizens are a lack of a proper sewerage and a shortage of drinking water. The problems in storm-water drainage, leading to flooding and related environmental issues, add to the woes of the residents during the monsoon.

Congestion on city roads and lack of pedestrian facilities are other problems. Another crisis is the increasing number of urban poor, which does not augur well for a city marching to be the metropolis of north Kerala.

Lands than can be developed in the peripheral areas of Beypore, Nallalam, Elathur and Olavanna have not been utilised.Stagnation of the local economy is a further vexing issue.

Often these problems remain unsolved because of poor coordination among government agencies and the State government’s conflicts with the civic body. Eventually, municipal governance is also hit, officials say.

Kozhikode is strategically located in north Kerala with easy accessibility to Mangalore and Mysore, two major cities in Karnataka, for enhancing export and import. The national waterway passes through the city.

These have not been fully explored.

The fishing harbours at Elathur and Beypore are yet to get importance. Moreover, the industrial belt in the Cheruvannur-Nallalam areas remains sluggish.Decentralisation of administration should pave the way for making use of availability of infrastructure for investment.

All three modes of transport should be developed. The tourism potential of the city as a base for hill tourism and water-based recreation should be tapped.