What a pity! Uneven roads to welcome back students

Thiruvananthapuram: Mounds of earth, broken bricks, pits and rubble lead the way to Vanchiyoor Government High School. A narrow path has been prepared just to give enough space for a two-wheeler to reach the school. Earthen bricks have been laid along this narrow path and some of which have sunken under the pressure. Motorists halt and look around for help wondering “Can I actually ride along?” The onlookers seem to respond “At your own risk”.
It is going to be bumpy way ahead for the schoolchildren as they get back to a full-fledged academic year on Wednesday. The roads dug up for laying of underground cables as part of the Smart City project have been refilled and are being made ‘motorable’, however, the aftereffect of such a hasty work is that it is a mix of puddle, mound and slush.
Meanwhile, at St Joseph’s School road a manhole lid protrudes above the uneven surface leading up to the school. Once you cross this hurdle, a puddle awaits just nearby. The road is open to traffic which is likely to make matters worse on the reopening day as it would be flooded with vehicles arriving to drop off and pick up kids. Given the pathetic state of the road, traffic cops will have a tough time trying to ensure some kind of movement.
Children who want to reach Holy Angels School will have to navigate through a pit dug up for Smart road that remains open right near the school gate. Vehicles squeeze along the road crammed by the ducting works which are underway. Following widespread criticism on delay in the execution it was decided that no new roads would be dug up for smart road works till monsoon was over. A total of 34 roads were to be completed by May 31. This was decided in a meeting convened by the ministers with the authorities.
However, the contractor has failed to meet the deadline. Out of 17 works on corporation roads, two have been almost completed with the laying of cables remaining. As for roads under KRFB, work is still dragging on and focus has shifted to refilling the roads and making them motorable in some way. The period of contract also ended on Tuesday. The corporation is learnt to have sought termination of contract and a final decision is pending.