The incessant monsoon rain over the past few days has added to the woes of motorists and pedestrians, who are forced to navigate pothole-ridden roads and improperly restored arterial and side roads in the city.

Expressing concern over the condition of innumerable roads and pedestrian pathways owned and maintained by the Kochi Corporation, the Public Works department (PWD) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), P.C. Ajith Kumar, general secretary of the Ernakulam District Residents’ Associations’ Apex Council (EDRAAC), said the body was planning legal action.

“The authorities ought to have carried out preventive maintenance during the summer months in anticipation of the monsoon. Their failure to do so is causing accidents and is also considerably slowing down traffic in different parts of the city,” he said.

Making matters worse, several damaged and missing slabs on city roads have been left unattended, posing grave danger to motorists and pedestrians. The situation in much of the city has been further aggravated by non-existent or dysfunctional street lights. Public spaces like the Vyttila Mobility Hub and the roads leading to it are also ill-lit, making them ideal spots for drug peddlers and other anti-social elements. Commuters would be better off shifting to the Kochi Metro to ensure a safe, reliable and comfortable ride, he added.

Traffic police sources said there had been a spike in accidents, especially involving two-wheeler riders who are caught unawares by potholes concealed beneath waterlogged roads.

The NHAI has repeatedly urged the PWD and the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK) to repair the severe undulations on the service roads beside the flyovers at Palarivattom, Vyttila and Kundannur, saying that these junctions had been handed over to the two agencies for the construction of the flyovers. “We have directed the maintenance team to repair potholes in the rest of the NH bypass corridor,” they said.

Having faced flak for the inordinate delay in taking up repair works on busy but damaged byroads, the Kochi Corporation has requested the contractors concerned to carry out patchwork and restore roads that were trenched to lay water and gas pipelines and power cables, it is learnt. “The war in West Asia has increased the cost of bitumen by around 70%. This is among the reasons for the delay in carrying out road repair works,” said T.K. Ashraf, chairman of the Corporation’s Works Standing Committee.

The civic body is awaiting a government order on how local bodies should deal with the situation since most contractors are unwilling to execute works at the pre-existing rate. “In this situation, we are trying to entrust repair works on adjacent roads to the same contractor, so that they need to spend less on mobilising workers and machinery,” he added.

In the meantime, the Federation of Residents Associations’ Apex Council in the Goshree Islands (FRAG) organised a demonstration on Tuesday, seeking steps to ensure the safety of two-wheeler riders and other road users by repairing potholes that have developed on the bridge in front of the International Container Transhipment Terminal at Vallarpadam.

More potholes are developing by the day. This is in addition to the hazard posed by dysfunctional street lights on the bridge. Little has been done, although the NHAI was informed many times about the potholes and dysfunctional street lights, said Anil Plavians, general secretary of FRAG.

Published - August 05, 2026 10:00 am IST