The biggest challenge PWD took up after the inundation was the reconstruction of damaged roads so as to restore traffic as quickly as possible. The officers of the Department worked on a war footing in order to remove all the waste deposits, fallen trees, dislodged soil and rocks that had fallen across the roads following mudslides and landslides. This helped expedite search-and-rescue operations, and thus reduce the number of casualties.
It is estimated that 16965 km of road in Kerala was destroyed due to the flood. Besides this, 218 bridges, 470 culverts, 298 km of the gutter and 256 km of retaining walls were damaged. Nearly, 51760 cubic metres of organic and inorganic waste material got deposited on roads, bridges and culverts; and nearly 208000 cubic metres of mud and rocks got dumped due to mudslides and landslides. The fact that roads in areas which were completely devasted in Idukki district in this natural disaster were made traffic-worthy in a matter of days is the evidence of the efficiency and sincerity of the Department. Roads that lay submerged underwater for days on end in Kuttanad were repaired in a time-bound manner; the Alappuzha-Changanassery road was reconstructed and upgraded at the cost of Rs 9 crores; many roads and bridges that had been taken away by the rushing waters were restored to traffic – all due to the diligent effort of the PWD. A meeting chaired by the PWD Minister was convened in order to chart a master plan for the reconstruction and repair of roads and bridges, and instructions were given to draw up plans for each constituency. In order to avoid any time delay, it was decided to invite limited tender as per the PWD Manual, and give the Chief Engineers the responsibility of coordinating the reconstruction activities. A consensus was reached at the meeting about giving due consideration to eligible candidates among local contractors who had the required equipment, technical know-how and labour to execute the plans. This meeting made an assessment of the post-flood condition of roads and decided that 8116 km of road required urgent repair in order to be made traffic-worthy and 8840 km of road needed to be reconstructed. The total expense for the reconstruction of roads and bridges destroyed in the flood is estimated at Rs 10000 crores. The administrative sanction was given for Rs.1567 crores from the Plan Fund for completion of 724 projects in order to restore 2316 roads. These projects are underway. By now, 4429 km of road have been restored under 656 projects, using Rs.882 crores from Non-plan funds. Different kinds of reconstruction activities are progressing, utilizing Rs.801 crores received from the Central Road Fund, which includes Rs.450 crores that were sanctioned following a meeting with the Central Minister of Surface Transport. Post-flood reconstruction work worth Rs.115.26 crores was undertaken as part of NABARD project. Several activities in various districts, using Rs.220 crores officially sanctioned under the Sabarimala Package, are nearing completion. Post-flood reconstruction work worth Rs.3765 crores has been sanctioned by the administration so far. The DPR of the reconstruction of the Alappuzha-Changanassery Road, that is built to withstand floods, is being prepared. All the required steps are also being taken to construct roads at a high level in the low-lying areas of Alappuzha district; and to construct roads in certain areas in Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts, keeping in mind their vulnerability to landslides. Repair and reconstruction work, based on the reports submitted by the Bridges Section after a detailed examination of bridges that sustained damage in the flood, is also progressing. Over and above all these, construction of roads to match international standards, with financial support from the German Bank and other international agencies, are going on under the aegis of the Rebuild Kerala Initiative. The Public Works Department is marching forward with the aim of completing the post-flood road-reconstruction activities within the shortest possible time span. As it tries to live up to the expectations of the people of Kerala, the support given by the
Chief Minister as well as the public has been tremendous. Having internalized the tag line – “New Age, New Construction” –of Nava Keralam, the PWD is attempting to co-ordinate the activities of various departments in order to bring the reconstruction projects to successful completion.
