Students do a Good Samaritan Act

KOCHI: A kerb near St. Albert’s College can easily be called a “threat to human lives”, as a half-metre-wide hole formed due to a broken kerbstone, forces pedestrians to walk on the busy road.  A couple of days ago, a group of college students built a make-shift structure out of coconut leaves around the hole to prevent pedestrians from falling into it. Initially, they had placed a sign board near the hole saying: Monsoon Marappura - the Cochin Corporation’s Swimming Pool that offers free bathing facilities. But the board disappeared within two days.“It is very risky as the pit is in a busy spot. That is why we came up with this idea,” said K P Syam, a postgraduate student at St Albert’s College and University Union councillor of the college, who along with 15 other friends, took this initiative. The spot had not yet caught the attention of the authorities concerned, he added.  “The kerb in this area has been in this condition since the last monsoon. Whenever there is some damage, the authorities come and replace the slabs. But with the next rain, the situation deteriorates again. The students of the college have done a good job. Perhaps this might open the eyes of the government or the authorities concerned,” said Benny George, a shop-keeper near the college.Asked about the maintenance of kerbs in the city, a Work Planning Committee official said,  “We have already started the maintenance work. The work has covered Kacherippady junction. It will soon reach the St Alberts college area.”The students said they even approached the authorities to draw their attention towards the problem. “We filed a complaint to the District Collector and also talked to the Area Councillor last week. But we are yet to get any reply,” said Eldhose K George, another student in the group.“This problem mainly affects the pedestrians. We have to struggle to walk across such holes. The Corporation doesn’t seem to care about people falling into death traps like these. I appreciate the students for their effort,” said Kumaran, one of the pedestrians.