Image for representation.
The Kerala High Court has directed the Public Works department road division executive engineer, Alappuzha, to prioritise repairs to the road leading to the Arookutty Community Health Centre in Keralam’s Alappuzha.
The project was estimated to be completed by March 2027. However, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice V.M. Syam Kumar advanced the deadline to December 2026, considering that it was only a 400 m stretch of road.
The State authorities admitted that the road’s condition was poor and that the work was awarded on June 2. The work awarded involved 15 roads across various panchayats in Aroor. The contractor took over the work on June 8. The court was informed that the works were progressing on a war footing.
The order was made in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by P. Hareesh Kumar of Arookutty seeking urgent intervention to restore the road’s damaged condition that ‘severely hinders’ ambulance movement, especially in adverse weather, and affects health-care access for elderly persons, pregnant women, school-going children and emergency service users.
The PIL alleged that no remedial action was taken despite repeated representations to the authorities concerned in the matter and that it violated the public’s right to life and health. The plea stated that the issue was not merely a road maintenance dispute, but concerned the principal access road to a functioning community health centre which catered to the health-care needs of the local population.
Published – October 02, 2026 07:50 pm IST
