But, as any traveller in present-day Kerala will confirm, Peck’s title could well be the anthem of the State, thanks to the dismal condition of the roads in almost all parts of what is billed as “God’s Own Country”.

The status remains the same even after Friday, August 31, the deadline set for the government by the Kerala High Court to complete repairs on them. Passing an order in a public interest petition, the court had criticised the quality of roads in the State, pointing to how rainwater remained on the roads without flowing into the drains.

The Main Central (M.C.) Road, or State Highway 1, as it is now called, was once the showpiece of Kerala, figuring in many Malayalam films as well. Old-timers will be hard put to recognise it today, scarred as it is with potholes and gaping cracks.

The status of National Highways 47 and 17 are equally dismal. Huge holes mark what is left of the highway at Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam (especially on the Vytilla-Aroor stretch), Haripad, Kayamkulam and Kollam. As for the Malabar region, long neglected in most development ventures, roads there are in far worse shape.

Work on the MC Road, which was being done under the World Bank-aided Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP), was given up almost a year ago, when funds dried up. Around the State, many road and bridge development projects have been abandoned half way, like the work on M.C. Road.

In the State capital, Thiruvananthapuram, the work on a flyover at Bakery Junction, within a stone’s throw of the the Kerala Legislative Secretariat, the seat of power, has been halted, leaving behind incomplete, ghostlike structures of iron and concrete.

Unsurprisingly, the Kerala High Court entered the scene again. Passing orders on a petition filed by a Kochi resident seeking a direction to the government to repair the gutter and pothole-filled city roads, the court directed the State Government to submit a statement regarding the amount collected as motor vehicles and road taxes during 2006 and 2007, and the total amount spent during 2005 and 2006 for construction and maintenance of roads.

The judge also directed the government to report the total amount allocated for construction and repair of roads in Kerala for 2007. He directed the government to state the reasons for not complying with its assurance, given to the court earlier, that the damaged roads would be repaired by August-end.

As the Public Works Department (PWD) and local bodies blame the rains and inadequate funds for the state of Kerala’s roads, Keralites continue to suffer.

Perhaps they can be comforted by looking to Africa, where the Jinja-Bugiri highway, a muddy, potholed wreck of a road connecting Uganda to Kenya, has been under construction for five years, and is nowhere near complete.

Unless the State Government moves and acts fast, Kerala – not Uganda or Kenya – is the place people will point to when asked for examples of tardy and inept development of basic infrastructure.

The writer can be contacted at kgkumar@gmail.com

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