Rajesh Abraham By Express News Service KOCHI: It is no secret that perhaps the most corrupt department in Kerala is the Public Works Department, irrespective of who is in power, be it the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) or the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF). Despite being headed by an upright minister G Sudhakaran, the government officials from the Secretariat down to the local bodies continue their old ways – finding new methods to siphon off funds meant for road development. According to unofficial estimates, only a third of the money sanctioned for road works is actually used as a whopping two-third amount goes as omission and commissions at various levels. No wonder, the roads are pothole-ridden, works get prolonged for a long period of time as contractors have to grease several arms from winning a project to its completion. The result: the roads break up as soon as they are built, and potholed roads are everywhere – from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram. Simply put, the state’s road infrastructure is in a complete mess. While India has the highest number of road accidents globally – 1,50,000 deaths from about 5,00,000 accidents, within the country Kerala has the dubious distinction of the highest number of deaths in road accidents – 4,199 deaths in 2018 and 31,611 grievously injured. Nearly a tenth of the deaths are caused by bad roads or accidents involving potholes. Nowhere is the problem more acute than in Kochi, the state’s financial centre. On Thursday, a youth died after his motorbike’s handle hit an iron barricade placed over a pit and he fell off the motorcycle, which is the second such incident in the recent months. The cracking up of the Palarivattom bridge within a couple of months after it was opened for traffic is a joke, tragedy and farce all rolled into one, but at the cost of the taxpaying public. Jayakumar J, senior town planner, Ernakulam, reckoned that the problem can be addressed by following the path adopted by the capital city Thiruvananthapuram by creating a company exclusively for road development in Kochi. The Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Ltd (TRDCL) is authorised to ensure the quality of the roads in the capital region for a period of 15 years. An empowered committee with the chief secretary as its head is in charge of TRDCL, which is responsible for 42-km road upkeep in the capital under the city road improvement project (CRIP). This arrangement is working ‘very well’ in Thiruvananthapuram, and can be replicated in Kochi, he said. “Kochi is the business capital of the state, and we can’t afford to sit and watch the situation deteriorate,” he said. A big problem faced in road projects is the lack of coordination between various agencies. Within days after a road is repaired or a new road is built, other agencies such as the water authority or a telecom company or the electricity board dig open the ‘new road’ to lay their pipes or cables. Apparently, the reason for the delay in repairing the road in Palarivattom, which caused a life, is due to the delay in getting the sanction from the PWD for the water authorities to dig the road to repair a broken pipe. Varghese Kannampally, president of both Government Contractors’ Association and Kerala Water Authority Contractors’ Association, said it is baffling that the government still continues with the archaic system of digging up roads to lay or repair the pipelines or cables. He said most countries now follow underground ducting which will protect the essential utilities like electricity, water, internet, and phone lines underground through a U-shaped concrete cover. “Initial cost may be a bit higher compared to the unscientific laying of cables or pipes below the road surface. However, these days a 3-km road single-lane tar road costs at least Rs 4 crore. The initial cost is nothing considering the digging up of a well-laid road three or four times to repair the pipes or cables,” he said. “The annual maintenance cost for negligible in underground ducting,” he said. Further, ducting contains the leak and prevents contamination. “Most big cities and countries have moved into the duct system for laying cables. What are we waiting for?” Kannampally asked. He also mooted a permanent system of giving a stretch, say 5 or 10 km, to a contractor for two years. “By doing this, you are fixing the responsibility of repairing potholes and other patchworks in that stretch to a specific contractor for a longer term. People living in the area should have the phone number of the contractor so that the person can be alerted through a WhatsApp image on the pothole for a quick repair,” Kannampally explained, adding that the executive engineer of the PWD can also be alerted about the pothole or damage so that the contractor can be monitored. “The renewal of the contract should be performance-based. The contractor can also be terminated if the performance is not up to the mark,” he said. “People in the area are the real owners of the road, not the local councillor or the MLA or the minister, who come and go. Similarly, the step will also benefit a large number of small contractors,” said Kannampally. Mohammed Shahi, executive engineer, Kerala Water Authority (KWA), blamed the lack of ‘utility corridor’ for the problems in the road sector in the state. He said there should be a parallel stretch or a narrow stretch exclusively for water pipelines, electricity and telephone/internet cables so that any repair work could be undertaken without affecting the traffic on the main roads. He said the service road from Karukutty near Angamaly to Mannuthy in Thrissur is being used by the water authority for the laying of pipeline, and it can be considered a ‘utility corridor.’ Electricity lines are also being laid through this service road, which means the main National Highway is undisturbed even when some repair happens in the pipelines or the electricity cables. Similarly, such utility carriageway from Kerala High Court to the Goshree bridges is being planned under the Cochin Smart Mission Ltd, and from Edappally to Aluva. Another proposal is using the service road from Cherthala to Kovalam for the utility corridor. Shahi said in cities like Kochi there is the big issue of land acquisition and eviction of people or shops and establishments if such corridors are planned through a busy way like MG Road. “It can create socio-economic problems,” he said. Jayakumar said a master plan is being prepared for Kochi corporation which will address all the issues with 20 years’ ahead. “We are addressing all the issues including road widening, footpath renovation etc. The 2040 master plan for Kochi will have thousands of layers and is being prepared for long-perspective. We are using the latest technologies for developing Kochi into a model city,” he said. While the promise for the future looks bright and glowing, the fact remains that the present state of affairs is abysmal. And unless the state government and the local self-governments improve the present state of affairs, the public will continue to have no hope for a better tomorrow. While India has the highest number of road accidents globally – 1,50,000 deaths from about 5,00,000 accidents – within the country Kerala has the dubious distinction of the highest number of deaths in road accidents – 4,199 deaths in 2018 and 31,611 grievously injured. Nearly a tenth of the deaths are caused by bad roads or accidents involving potholes. The cracking up of the Palarivattom bridge within a couple of months after it was opened for traffic is a joke, tragedy and farce all rolled into one, but at the cost of the taxpaying public.

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