Measures sought to restore Marine Drive to its past glory

Faced with depleting public spaces and vendors encroaching into many of the recently redeveloped footpaths in the city and in West Kochi, people’s representatives, NGOs and others have sought the appointment of a nodal officer to coordinate with civic agencies and other departments to ensure the upkeep of the ill-maintained Marine Drive walkway.

Although the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA)-owned stretch that overlooks the backwaters had been redeveloped by Cochi Smart Mission Limited (CSML) under a ₹7.30-crore project, inadequate maintenance has taken a toll, they say.

High Court order

Based on a Kerala High Court order, a nodal officer ought to have been appointed and his contact details like telephone number and email address published, said environmental activist Ranjit Thampy, who is also a regular walker along Marine Drive. He had earlier this year shot off a letter to the Chief Secretary, citing a High Court directive that the secretaries concerned of the GCDA, Kochi Corporation, Kerala State Pollution Control Board and the District Police Chief (Kochi City) hold a joint meeting within four weeks to formulate a ‘Kochi Marine Drive Monitoring Committee’ consisting of senior officials of the departments, to ensure upkeep of the walkway, lights, plants and other infrastructure. Although a committee was formed, a nodal officer has not been appointed.

In May, he sent a letter to the then District Collector, referring to the alleged low-quality materials that were used to build a toilet complex. Due to this, tiles were falling off. Two toilets that were built on the Abdul Kalam Marg (the walkway’s northward extension) are in a dilapidated condition and remain locked. In addition, two structures in the middle of the Kettuvallom Bridge must be demolished since they have become a den for anti-social elements and drug addicts. Attention must also be given to activate all CCTVs on the walkway to deter such people and prevent waste dumping into the mangroves and the backwaters, he added.

Regular walkers too have been highlighting the risk that undulated and broken tiles pose to the safety of visitors to the walkway. They have been seeking frequent cleaning using jet pump to clean bird droppings and dirt from the walkway. A waste management plan, deployment of personnel at police aid posts and steps to prune the branches of trees to prevent instances of trees getting uprooted in heavy winds have been their other demands.

In the meantime, Ernakulam MLA T.J. Vinod has demanded that the government and the Kochi Corporation do a rethink on rehabilitating vendors from different parts of the city on footpaths that the CSML redeveloped on the Shanmukham Road-Goshree Bridge stretch, from which people enter Marine Drive at multiple points. “It would be highly improper to convert the stretch as a vending zone. This would make the entire area an eyesore and also affect traders who pay huge rent and taxes for their shops,” he said.

He also demanded adequate number of toilets and garbage bins along the Marine Drive walkway and also steps to maintain the walkway in optimal condition.

Apart from visitors to the walkway, commuters to the Goshree islands have for the past many years been complaining of how vendors selling fruits and other items have encroached on considerable space of the redeveloped footpaths.

Entry fee

Sources in the GCDA hoped that the newly appointed District Collector would take steps to appoint a nodal officer to restore Marine Drive to its original glory.

“Although there are demands to impose an entry fee to the scenic walkway, this could dissuade people from visiting the locale. Efforts by the GCDA to tidy the premises and to ensure green cover by planting saplings are being thwarted by anti-social elements who often uproot them and cause damage to water sprinklers.”

However, ex-service personnel have been posted to step up security on the walkway. “The area that was conceived as an eatery beneath the Kettuvallom Bridge cannot be reopened since it is tough to maintain it,” they added.