Now, mayor Soumini Jain takes on PWD minister G Sudhakaran on bad roads

KOCHI: Mayor Soumini Jain and PWD Minister G. Sudhakaran are on a tug of war over the bad condition of roads in the city. While attending a programme here on Friday, the minister asked the Mayor to repair the corporation roads first before criticising the PWD. The Mayor had earlier said that the corporation-owned roads were in good condition while the PWD roads were ruined.

She criticised district collector M.G. Rajamanickam who submitted before the High Court that the civic body’s failure in carrying out pre-monsoon cleaning and repairing work was the major reason for the damaged roads. The minister also alleged that the civic body had not yet handed over the list of damaged PWD roads within the city limits to the department. “Emergency repair works of major roads will be completed before August 15,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ms. Jain said that though the civic body could complete the repair of most of the roads before the onset of monsoon, some roads were still in bad condition. “The city roads are owned by many agencies, including corporation, PWD, Greater Cochin Development Authority, National Highway Authority of India and even Kerala Water Authority. The civic body alone is not responsible for the bad roads and a concerted effort of all agencies is required for proper maintenance of city roads,” she said.

She added that repairing can’t be undertaken during monsoon though estimate preparation and other works for road works are on. Ms. Jain earlier alleged that the district collector’s statement in the High Court was an attempt to misguide the court. She also sought financial assistance for modernising the roads and to scientifically reconstruct the drainage system in the city.