KOCHI: The innumerable open drains that dot the city’s footpaths are always ready to welcome you with open arms, literally!Adding on to the many incidents of pedestrians getting hurt because of open drains, a woman suffered injuries after her leg got trapped in-between slabs on the footpath opposite Maharaja’s College Ground on M G Road on Wednesday. Fire and rescue personnel, and the city police had to work for over an hour to free her.“The lady was walking on the footpath when her leg slipped into a gap between the slabs. Although we tried a lot, we could not set her leg free. At last, the police and the fire and rescue personnel, had to come and remove the slab. She was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for her injuries,” said Basil, a bystander.The issues of open drains posing a threat to pedestrians in the city has been a long-pending one. However, the officials concerned have done little to address the issue. Instead, the Corporation and Public Works Department (PWD) keep passing the buck to each other regarding the responsibility towards the pathetic condition of the footpaths. “The Corporation might set aside some funds in its upcoming budget for the maintenance and repair works on footpaths. However, PWD is in-charge of the major roads that see the heaviest pedestrian traffic in the city. It is their duty to conduct the maintenance work on the footpaths there,” said a top official with the Corporation.Meanwhile, PWD Executive Engineer T I Jose said that maintenance work on the footpaths along the road from Goshree Bridge to BTH will be conducted as part of the road repair works. “Currently, we are unable to conduct any repair work on the footpath along M G Road because of the pending metro alignment work. The other road under PWD is the Edappally- High Court Road. The footpath there is maintained by the Corporation,” he added.
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