SEEKING RESPONSE FROM KOCHI CORPORATION, CSML; DRAINS LEFT UNCOVERED, GRATES MISSING: KERALA HIGH COURT

The Kerala High Court in the case Pauly Vadakkan v. Corporation of Cochin observed and directed the Cochin Corporation and Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML) to file a report on the missing grating covering the drains on the roads in the city.

In the present case, the matter came to the notice of the Court from a newspaper report in the ‘Malayala Manorama’ that the gratings were missing on certain roads in Kochi, the roads covering the holes to draw water into the drains, and this is likely to injure pedestrians and motorists, particularly two-wheelers.

The bench comprising of Justice Devan Ramachandran observed and orally remarked that “This is a city which has to grow, and the city can grow only if the pedestrians can walk”.

It added that the veracity of the news will totally have to be answered by the Corporation and Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML), who is stated to have completed the work on the roads in question.

It was directed by the court to the standing counsel appearing for the CSML, Advocate M U Vijayalakshmi and the standing counsel appearing for the Cochin Corporation, Advocate Janardhanan Shenoy for filling their response to the said newspaper report.

Earlier this month, a similar matter was taken up and the court pulled up the Kochi Corporation and the Public Works Department over their failure to take adequate action in the city for repairing the faulty roads even after delivering repeated directions.

Accordingly, the court has been posted for 1st August.