THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Taking a toll on motorists and residents alike, the Mounted Police Road near Jagathy sports a pitiable condition with innumerable potholes and bad drains. Adjacent roads which remain in good condition create a bad reputation for this stretch, that belongs to both Thycaud and Jagathy wards. ‘’Taxis or autorikshaws hardly come to this road owing to its dilapidated state. This road has been existing in this state for more than a decade. The condition worsens once rain sets in. Water overflowing from the drains fills the potholes and gets into houses. We have complained to the City Corporation several times through the resident’s association. The authorities have not yet acted,” says P Krishnapillai, a retired officer from Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation who is a resident of the area. The zigzag path taken by motorists is a miserable sight on this road. ‘’You can’t even imagine a pregnant woman travelling along this road,’’ remarked a homemaker living nearby. The bad stench emanating from the water causes suffocation to the residents. The residents say that the sidewalls of the drain have collapsed as heavy vehicles pass close to the edge to make way for other vehicles. The vice-president of the Jagathy People’s Nagar Residents’ Association, D Madhavan Nair, said: ‘’Besides being destined to suffer the menace created by bad roads and huge open drains, some houses where sewerage connection is yet to be given have diverted the channel to the open drains and therefore the attack of mosquitoes is also rampant.’’ The residents agree in unison that the road can be subjected to tarring only when the dilapidated sidewalls of the huge drains are repaired. Jagathy ward councillor Sheeja Madhu says that, ‘’the tender to resume the work of building sidewalls for the road and putting slabs over the drains has already been awarded. The construction would resume soon after the paperwork is ready. Tarring will proceed only after the work is over.’’
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