Bad roads, broken toilets and poor infra; Kottayam voters vent anger at the civic body

As Kerala goes for phase 1 of local body polls on December 9, Onmanorama did a reality check on civic amenities and infrastructure in Kottayam. Residents came up with a host of issues, including bad toilets, a demolished bus stand, poorly maintained footpaths, roads and an unusable boat jetty.

No place to pee
There used to be a public comfort station at the Nagampadam private bus stand, operated by the Kottayam municipality. However, a year ago, it ceased operations. Now, the closed gate of the facility is adorned with floral wreaths.

With the closure of the comfort station, a pungent smell of urine lingers around the area.

"Want to urinate? Go somewhere else. Long-distance travellers suffer the most. Men can go to the sides and relieve themselves, but what about women? The municipality is not taking action," said Sarath P Sasi, who works at a mobile shop in the Nagampadam bus stand building.

"The municipality closed the facility a year ago, claiming the tank was full and leaking. At that time, wastewater flowed through the roads. They shut it down and never looked back," said Jayanti Jayan, who runs a bakery at Nagampadam. 

Kottayam Nehru Stadium, where wildlife thrives
Visiting the Kottayam Nehru Stadium feels more like a trip to a zoo than a sports facility. The damaged drainage system of the stadium has become a habitat for fish, which swim actively in the mix of rainwater and waste.  

Close to the drainage is a thick undergrowth. The stadium's athletics track is filled with water and grass, and small birds, including cranes, now search for food where athletes once raced for glory.

The galleries remain uncleaned, and the railing at the top is in ruins. The waste from a function held the previous day lies unattended on the fringes of the main building of the gallery.

The entire field is overgrown with grass. "The grass isn't as tall as it used to be because a government department held a program here two days ago. Come back in a week, and you’ll see the grass as tall as 4 feet," said a man who runs a shop at the stadium. He further lamented that the municipality has been ignoring the stadium, and no repairs have been carried out for a long time.

Thirunakkara bus stand building, demolished, but not reconstructed
"What the municipality knows is to demolish," said a taxi driver at the Thirunakkara bus stand, pointing to the site where the old bus stand building once stood. "They said the structure was weak, yet they brought in land movers to climb above the floors and remove the debris. Look at the iron used for the pillar; they left it there because they couldn’t remove it from the ground." 

Another driver shared his frustration about the charges placed on taxi drivers. "We collect around ₹2.5 lakh annually and remit it to the municipality to use the stand," he said. "Have you ever heard of taxi drivers having to pay to use a stand? That's what's happening here. And yet, they don’t provide us with any facilities."

Footpaths that are hard to use
The footpaths near the Thirunakkara bus stand are in a bad shape. The barriers separating the road and the footpath are damaged, and only two remain intact near Thirunakkara. Along the footpath, drainage covers are left open in many places.

Moreover, the height difference between the road and the footpath exceeds 10 inches, making it extremely difficult for people to cross the road. "It is very hard to cross the road. They have constructed this poorly," said a woman with a leg disability.

Jetty without boats
The old boat jetty was recently renovated using funds sanctioned by Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan MLA. However, despite the renovation, no boats can access the jetty. Aquatic weeds have overtaken the stream leading to the jetty, rendering it unusable.

The jetty itself is beautifully renovated, but the municipality has taken no steps to protect or maintain it. "The building now houses anti-social elements, and public money remains wasted due to negligence," said a local woman, expressing frustration over the lack of maintenance.

Waste management is a mess
"This is the worst municipal administration that I have seen anywhere," said a voter from the Kanjikuzhy ward in Kottayam Municipality, highlighting the inefficiency of the administration in addressing the town's waste management issues.

"In Kottayam town, space is limited, and for households, waste management is a huge problem. Once a month, the Haritha Karma Sena comes and collects plastic waste, but food waste remains a major issue," he explained. 

A woman from the locality shared that they had removed the tube provided by the municipality because no one came to collect the waste. "What we do now is collect the waste and throw it somewhere on the roadside. It’s illegal, but what can we do?" she asked, pointing to her helplessness.

Roads in Kottayam 
A casual tour though the roads in the town laid bare the horrible condition of the interior lanes in the municipality.

Park Lane Road
The road that stretches from K K Road running adjacent to K C Mammen Mappillai Hall has been in a state of disrepair for years. Ranjit, a school van driver who passes through the road, mocks at the patchwork done recently on the road with cement and mortar. "See how hastily they filled up the potholes for votes. Till recently, it has been a nightmare to drive through this road. If they can take notice of the condition of the road during elections, why can they see it when needed?" he asks.

Sajeev, an auto driver at the stand in front of the District hospital, is concerned about the patients he carries home. "I try to avoid the road by any means, but at times when there is a traffic block on K K road and a patient from the hospital has to be taken home or other location faster I use this road," he says.

Mullamangalam Lane
The road that runs from K K Road and meets Wilson Street is frequented by many people every day. "Hundreds of requests and complaints have been filed, but all in vain," said Bhaskaran, a resident in the area

Grideepam Kadathukadavu Road

"This is just one example, take any interior road or public lane away from Kottayam-Kumaly Road, the condition is the same," says Kochu Joseph, an instructor with a driving school, says. The road, which was constructed as part of the Local Self-Government department's Rebuild Kerala Initiative, was started with much fanfare.

The stretch from K K Road up to Karani ground is filled with potholes, and is widely used by students, teachers and employees of Girideepam Public School apart from commoners. "This is the condition of the road you can see for yourself," a plus two student says. "Ordinary people are not asking too much, and if the government can't provide a decent road, of what use is it to the people," he asks.

"Maintaining good roads is not that tough if they are constructed properly. But it is the people to be blamed who get used to and approach such negligence and apathy with a seasoned indifference," says Lida Jacob, a school teacher.