Clamour for Kochi’s inclusion in CRIP grows louder

Kochi was recently ranked 50th globally in traffic congestion owing to narrow roads, poorly planned junctions, and encroachments.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO

Non-governmental organisations, residents’ associations, and others have demanded the fast-tracking of road development in Kochi while pointing out that the city was excluded from the State government’s City Roads Improvement Programme (CRIP), which covers roads in Kannur, Kozhikode, Alappuzha, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram.

The demand for Kochi’s inclusion in CRIP dates back over a decade when traffic congestion plagued the city due to delays in widening and extending the Thammanam-Pullepady Road, Chilavannur Bund Road, and Goshree-Mamangalam Road. These road projects have not been materialised yet. 

Questioning the city’s exclusion from CRIP, Arjun Prakash of Kochi Next Forum pointed out that the city was recently ranked 50th globally in traffic congestion owing to narrow roads, poorly planned junctions, and encroachments.

Kochi has the highest number of registered vehicles in the State. Therefore, CRIP should include roads across the Kochi metropolitan area, not just within the Corporation limits. The civic body’s boundaries have not been expanded for the past 57 years, he said. It was high time a planning committee and a development authority were established for the Kochi metropolitan area’s growth, he added.

Referring to worsening congestion at junctions like Kaloor, Edapally, Vyttila, and Kundannur, urban planners have long stressed the need to redevelop and extend existing roads to ease traffic at the junctions and along the 16-km Edapally-Aroor NH 66 Bypass– the busiest NH corridor in Kerala where congestion is acute.

Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden lamented that Kochi was overlooked in the recent Kerala budget, stating that the city’s road development had been stagnant for years. “This will only drive up the cost of long-pending road projects. It is high time the announcements made in successive Budgets for road infrastructure were backed by adequate funding,” he said.

Referring to S.A. Road, Subhash Bose Road, and Stadium Link Road, which were developed over the past two decades, Mayor M. Anilkumar said steps would be taken to create a road cluster involving K.P. Vallon Road, Goshree-Mamangalam Road, and Palluruthy Parallel Road, for which ₹15 crore was allocated in the Budget.

“Even without CRIP, roads in the city are being developed in phases, and efforts are under way. However, it must be noted that improved road infrastructure often leads to an influx of more vehicles. In this scenario, the better approach is to optimise existing roads by keeping them pothole-free and enhancing public transport connectivity,” he said.