Latest news with #KochiCorporation
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Corp's 13 compactor trucks, bought at 1cr each, in ruins
Kochi: Almost all the 13 refuse compactor trucks of Kochi Corporation, procured in 2014 at a cost of around Rs 1 crore each, are in ruins, according to a report prepared by the civic body's officials. A dearth of funds and a shortage of workshops with the right facilities are delaying their repair work. Now, the corporation proposes to entrust the operation and maintenance of the trucks to a private agency. The report said that it would take several months for the corporation officials to release the funds for repair works. However, the lone workshop in the near proximity where refuse compactor trucks can be repaired insists on advance payment for carrying out the repair works. The vehicles will develop further damage, like rusting of platforms, without proper maintenance. Moreover, only one truck can be repaired at a time at the workshop, adding to the delay, the report states. Hence, the corporation is forced to hire private trucks for garbage movement and other works. "It is to avoid this situation that we plan to introduce a private agency to handle the operation and maintenance of the trucks. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like TV providers are furious: this gadget gives you access to all channels Techno Mag Learn More Undo Last year, Cochin Smart Mission Ltd (CSML) procured 15 refuse compactor trucks for the corporation to transport garbage. The operation and maintenance of the CSML-procured trucks are entrusted to a private agency. They handle the trucks' maintenance in an effective way. So, if the operation of the 13 trucks we already have too is entrusted to a private agency, we can avoid hiring private trucks," a top official with the corporation said. According to the report, the local body shelled out Rs 35 lakh in Oct 2024 to hire private trucks. "There is a lobby that supports hiring private trucks. The lobby acts in collusion with some corporation 'authorities' and officials. If the trucks' maintenance is entrusted to another agency, then the hiring of private trucks can be avoided," said Kochi corporation UDF parliamentary party secretary M G Aristotle. "Those who support the lobby will not spare even a single opportunity to hire private trucks. Recently, they facilitated hiring private trucks for the shifting of silt removed from canals. As per the agreement with the contractors and corporation, the contractors had the responsibility to shift the silt at their cost. But some of the corporation 'authorities' and officials bent the norms to hire private trucks," Aristotle said.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Kochi corporation's 13 compactor trucks, bought at Rs 1cr each, in ruins
Kochi: Almost all the 13 refuse compactor trucks of Kochi Corporation, procured in 2014 at a cost of around Rs 1 crore each, are in ruins, according to a report prepared by the civic body's officials. A dearth of funds and a shortage of workshops with the right facilities are delaying their repair work. Now, the corporation proposes to entrust the operation and maintenance of the trucks to a private agency. The report said that it would take several months for the corporation officials to release the funds for repair works. However, the lone workshop in the near proximity where refuse compactor trucks can be repaired insists on advance payment for carrying out the repair works. The vehicles will develop further damage, like rusting of platforms, without proper maintenance. Moreover, only one truck can be repaired at a time at the workshop, adding to the delay, the report states. Hence, the corporation is forced to hire private trucks for garbage movement and other works. "It is to avoid this situation that we plan to introduce a private agency to handle the operation and maintenance of the trucks. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like These travel cards could help fund your next adventure Intuit Credit Karma Learn More Undo Last year, Cochin Smart Mission Ltd (CSML) procured 15 refuse compactor trucks for the corporation to transport garbage. The operation and maintenance of the CSML-procured trucks are entrusted to a private agency. They handle the trucks' maintenance in an effective way. So, if the operation of the 13 trucks we already have too is entrusted to a private agency, we can avoid hiring private trucks," a top official with the corporation said. According to the report, the local body shelled out Rs 35 lakh in Oct 2024 to hire private trucks. "There is a lobby that supports hiring private trucks. The lobby acts in collusion with some corporation 'authorities' and officials. If the trucks' maintenance is entrusted to another agency, then the hiring of private trucks can be avoided," said Kochi corporation UDF parliamentary party secretary M G Aristotle. "Those who support the lobby will not spare even a single opportunity to hire private trucks. Recently, they facilitated hiring private trucks for the shifting of silt removed from canals. As per the agreement with the contractors and corporation, the contractors had the responsibility to shift the silt at their cost. But some of the corporation 'authorities' and officials bent the norms to hire private trucks," Aristotle said.
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Automotive
- The Hindu
Pothole-riddled arterial roads make commute a nightmare for Kochiites
The proliferation of potholes even on innumerable arterial roads and on national highway corridors has made commuting a nightmare in Kochi, following which angry motorists, pedestrians and others are demanding accountability from the agencies concerned. Ranjit Thampy, a city-based socio-environmental activist, said that only the roads which had been resurfaced a few years ago in the city hub by Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML) were largely found to be free of potholes. He noted that this indicated a failure by the Kochi Corporation, Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA), Public Works Department (PWD), and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to ensure that preventive maintenance and the mandatory resurfacing of damaged corridors were carried out before the onset of the monsoons this year as well. 'The reason why roads that had been resurfaced using the BMBC method (that comes with a five-year warranty), and NHAI-owned NH corridors that are resurfaced using higher specifications develop potholes has to be probed. It often takes over an hour to reach from one point to a nearby point due to the worsening condition of roads and obstructive parking on almost all roads,' he said. Sources in the traffic police said that they were hamstrung, considering the unprecedented number of severely-potholed roads in the city and its immediate suburbs and the plethora of bottlenecked junctions. 'We are fed up with commuters often complaining to us about serpentine traffic snarls, wastage of time, fuel and the wear and tear of their vehicles. Incidents of road rage and accidents too are becoming common, since motorists often enter the wrong side of roads to avoid potholes,' they said. Gaping potholes With gaping potholes galore on the main carriageway and service roads of the NHAI-owned 17-km-long Edappally-Aroor NH 66 Bypass and the Kundannoor Junction-Maradu NH 85 corridor, the GCDA-owned Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road, the Kochi Corporation's Stadium Link Road, the GIDA's trio of Goshree bridges, the PWD's Thammanam-Pullepady Road and the NH Bypass-Vennala-Seaport-Airport Road corridor, NGOs and others filled a handful of potholes with stones and mud. There were also protests, with anything from shrubs to plantain trees coming in handy to warn motorists of impending potholes. Road owning agencies cite administrative delays for not doing preventive maintenance, rains and slack inter-departmental coordination as the reasons for the pathetic plight of roads in the city. Mayor M. Anilkumar spoke of how the Stadium Link Road would be resurfaced once the rain abated. Sources in the GCDA said that although tender was finalised to resurface the Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road earlier this year, the State government had not given sanction to execute the ₹2.50-crore work. 'The GCDA can directly award works only up to ₹1 crore. For now, workers have been directed to temporarily fill potholes and to place sign boards warning of potholes,' they said. On its part, the Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) is facing flak for delay in repairing damaged and trenched parts of the arterial Civil Line Road that it barricaded a year ago for Kochi metro's Kakkanad extension.
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
HC issues notice to Delimitation Commission
The Kerala High Court has issued notice to the Delimitation Commission and others concerned in a petition filed by T.K. Ashraf, the chairman of the Kochi Corporation's health standing committee. A Bench of Justice C.S. Dias passed the order in a petition filed by Mr. Ashraf, in which he had mentioned that the names of 31,000 people were missing in Kochi Corporation limits, for the delimitation of wards under the civic agency. Quoting the 2011 Census, he said that there were 6.33 lakh residents in Kochi, but the Delimitation Commission has considered only 6.02 lakh people. In Ward 5, the names of 8,144 people have not been mentioned. As per norms, a ward having 8,000 or more people must be retained, he said, and sought cancellation of the ward's delimitation. The delimitation notification would be subject to the result of the writ petition, the court said.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Opposition up in arms over alleged discrepancies in draft electoral rolls
The Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are up in arms over the alleged discrepancies in the draft electoral rolls for the Kochi Corporation and the larger Ernakulam district published by the State Election Commission. This, they alleged, was a concerted effort in connivance with officials to set the ground in favour of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)]. The UDF's Ernakulam MLA T.J. Vinod has petitioned the Chief Election Commissioner with copies to the District Collector and the Kochi Corporation secretary. He pointed out that hundreds of voters in many delimited wards had been erroneously included in the neighbouring wards and even in entirely different Assembly constituencies. In one such instance, 600-odd voters from 200-odd households in the Perumanoor division in the Ernakulam Assembly constituency were found included in the Panampilly Nagar division in the Thrikkakara Assembly constituency, Mr. Vinod said. 'The voters concerned are required to submit applications in Form 7 to resolve this mistake. It was practically difficult for 10,000-odd voters in the Ernakulam constituency alone to submit applications and then turn up for hearing in the short period allowed for the purpose. This amounted to violation of a citizen's right to cast vote,' he said. Voters have been given time till August 7 to apply to correct mistakes in the draft electoral rolls. This will be followed by hearings of petitioners, and the final list will be published by August 31. M.G. Aristotle, UDF parliamentary party leader in the Corporation, alleged that in the voter's list for the civic body, prepared based on building numbers, over 500 voters were listed under buildings numbered '0'. He said this undermined the very sanctity of the list and questioned how a building could be assigned the number '0' and how such buildings could be identified. 'There have also been instances where persons who were not members of the households in the relevant building numbers were shown as voters of those buildings. For instance, in my building number where only my mother and I reside, a stranger has been shown as a voter,' he said. P.S. Shaiju, chairperson of the BJP city district committee, alleged that in divisions and wards where the BJP had a good chance of victory, the party's voters had been handpicked and deliberately shifted to the list of other wards and divisions to sabotage the party's prospects. 'This has been done deliberately with the connivance of the officers. We have petitioned the Collector, who is also the District Election Officer, and unless a favourable decision is forthcoming by Monday (July 28, 2025), we will move the court,' he said.
