THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The irritating habit of the authorities in failing to meet the deadlines of road works continues. This time, the victims are the businesses lined up along the Power House Road in the heart of the city who are crying foul over the work carried out by the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) and the Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Limited (TRDCL). The work, that commenced in September 2010 and was scheduled to finish within three months, has not yet reached halfway. The traders along the stretch of road, under the aegis of the Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi, have decided to go on a stir blocking the vehicular traffic on the road in a bid to invite the attention of the government to their grievances. ‘’Our business has witnessed a dip of around 80 per cent ever since the work started. The plight continues as the work still goes on,’’ said Shamsudeen, who runs a hardware shop beside the road. He attributes the fall in business to the reluctance of people to visit the shops owing to the thick cloud of dust that prevails in the area. Lack of proper parking space is also another major reason. He also said that the road has high significance as it leads to the second gate of the Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station and houses the most number of wholesale and retail shops, as many as 220, in the city. A Salim, president of the Ekopana Samithi, said that the unscientific ways adopted for the work have even turned walking along the road a nightmare. Both sides of the road have been dug up simultaneously, which has left little space for the vehicles to pass. For Sebastian, a middle-aged employee at a nearby petrol pump, the dust rising from the road when vehicles pass is the most bothersome. ‘’We work here for more than 12 hours a day and all the employees are already ailing from breathing problems,’’ he said. ‘’The work got delayed owing to several external factors, including the improper ways of waste disposal of the local businessmen and residents,’’ said Anil Kumar Pandala, Vice-President of TRDCL. He told City Express that it was only after the works started that they found out that the sewage system beneath the road was a complete mess. The drains were all blocked. It was also found out several unauthorised drain pipes that opened into the main lane were the reason for the block. The TRDCL was forced to embark on a venture to convert all these connections into authorised ones so as to continue the works without any opposition. The work of the Kerala Water Authority and Japan International Cooperation Limited that kick-started in the midst of the ongoing road work has also caused a delay in the reconstruction of the road, Pandala said.
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