Date:02/07/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/02/stories/2007070257550300.htm

Kerala - Kochi

Bad roads worsen traffic snarls

Staff Reporter

Kumbalam and Champakkara bridges develop gap at expansion joints

Photo: H. Vibhu

WARNING SIGN: People on Cannon Shed Road have planted a tree in a hole to warn motorists.

KOCHI: Many of the roads in the city continue to be unmotorable, despite the Public Works Department (PWD) and Corporation taking steps to temporarily fill potholes with metal.

Traffic snarls in all arterial and side roads have been worsening by the day, as vehicles slow down to negotiate potholes on the road and bridges. Most junctions in the city are in pathetic condition and this has made matters worse.

The situation is such that it is easier to count junctions sans potholes than the ones which have them in plenty.

Commuting to the city has become a nightmare for people, especially office goers. Many shops have shifted to the NH 47 bypass and the city’s suburbs, anticipating a drop in customers who are wary of making a trip to the city. A PWD official said that relaying potholed stretches will cost at least Rs.1.3 crore. Last week, the State Government sanctioned Rs.33 lakh, for carrying out emergency repairs on roads in the district. Of this, Rs.27 lakh will be spent on relaying city roads.

With potholes developing regularly during monsoon, the least that the PWD, Corporation and National Highways Authority of India could have done was to reinforce the patches before the onset of monsoon. This could have been done for a few lakh of rupees and saved commuters the agony of using back-breaking roads.

Ill-maintained roads and bridges have been causing traffic snarls even in the NH bypass. Motorists say that it takes over 45 minutes to cover the 10-km-long Vytilla-Aroor stretch of the bypass. Apart from the inordinate delay on the part of NHAI in converting the road into a four-lane one, a one-feet gap has developed between the expansion joints of the Kumbalam bridge, constructed by the Kerala State Construction Corporation.

Repairs can be conducted only after the parallel bridge was ready. A smaller gap has developed between the expansion joints of the Champakkara bridge in the bypass, further holding up vehicles.

Meanwhile, the Road Accident Action Forum, a city-based organisation has demanded that the District Collector (who is the District Magistrate) take action against agencies that fail to maintain roads in good condition, under Section 133 (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code. “Under the Section, both the District Magistrate and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate are empowered to initiate action to remove obstructions or nuisance from any public place (in this context, potholes on public roads),” says Siraj Karoly, vice president of the organisation.

The Government has been collecting a whole lot of taxes from vehicle users – vehicle tax and 24 per cent sales tax on fuel. Not even a fraction of these amounts is being pumped in for road maintenance, Mr. Karoly said.