The Kerala High Court had expressed dissatisfaction at the shoddy state of arterial roads in the city.
| Photo Credit: H. VIBHU
The Kochi Corporation has allocated ₹5 lakh to each of its seven zones to repair potholed roads under its jurisdiction in the next couple of weeks, while other agencies have also been asked to follow suit with regard to roads under their control.
The decision was taken at a meeting convened by Mayor M. Anilkumar and District Collector N.S.K. Umesh here on Thursday (July 31, 2025) to discuss ways to address the pitiable state of roads in the city under the Corporation and other agencies. The move comes a day after the Kerala High Court expressed dissatisfaction at the shoddy state of arterial roads in the city, even as the court asked engineers of civic and other agencies that own roads whether they alone were not seeing gaping potholes that had developed on innumerable roads. Unscientific and damaged manhole covers and undulating paver blocks are the other problems that motorists face. The situation is such that road users dying in pothole-related accidents is not news any more, the court observed.
“We have already started repairing potholed roads, including Stadium Link Road, Pachalam Road, and other select roads. Once the rain subsides, we will completely resurface the affected roads dug up for various projects. Besides, Cochin Smart Mission Limited [CSML] has been asked to intervene and ask the contractors concerned to repair roads, which it had restored but had developed potholes before the expiry of the Defect Liability Period,” said Mr. Anilkumar.
The Public Works department (PWD) has also been asked to do the needful in the case of roads under its control. The Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA) has been asked to repair the Goshree bridges and the potholed road near the High Court for which it had deposited funds with CSML. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) were among the other agencies asked to restore roads at the earliest. Officials of the Kerala Water Authority have also been asked to repair roads dug up as part of the Jal Jeevan project.
The meeting held in the Collector’s chamber was attended by representatives of the PWD, GIDA, GCDA, NHAI, Motor Vehicles department, and the police.
Published – August 01, 2025 01:20 am IST
