Corruption charges bring HMT-Mattakkadav road work to halt 

KOCHI: The renovation work of HMT-Mattakkadav Road has come to a halt for an indefinite period due to public protest over using low-quality interlock tiles.

The project, funded by Roji M John MLA on the 13th ward of Kalamassery Municipality,  is in limbo for almost a week and the residents blame laxity on the part of Municipal authorities in taking action against the contractor.

"Ever since they unloaded the tiles on the first day of work, we have been pointing out the poor quality of materials chosen by the contractors. The public has been approaching municipal engineers and elected representatives for a solution. Sadly, none of them is showing any interest, hinting at widespread corruption.  Even the councillor has not taken a strong stance against corruption," said Shanavas, a resident.

Meanwhile, officials and elected members are passing the blame on the contractor.  "With interlocking tile manufacturing coming down, the material offloaded are found to be in a poor condition. But the samples shown by the contractor were of good quality. We have asked him to come up with new tiles and finish the work as soon as possible. With the allegation rife, we are planning to issue a show cause notice soon," said Nandakumar, overseer.

Meanwhile, councillor V S Aboobaker said a meeting will be held soon to solve the issue. 
"I have personally visited the location and studied the issue. Though the contractor promised to complete the work with superior quality material, the materials he offloaded were of poor quality.  Though people have various suggestions on the issue, we cannot implement all views. We have to consider every aspect and a meeting between councillors, officials and contractor will be held. Instead of making allegations, everyone should focus on completing the work with zero corruptions," he said.