Tale of a dead city

A panoramic view of kochi from the Kochi kayal backwater Kochi - The queen of Arabian Sea or also know as Arabi Kadalinde Raaknji is in the threshold of "development"(whatever it means). Vallarpaadam Container Terminal, Dubai Internet city - Smart city, The proposed Seaport-Airport Road, IT parks of kinfra, Special economic zones . . . . . The list of "Developmental" projects is huge. The Business houses and Real Estate Agencies have already started acquiring land in bulk. The IT giants (Wipro, Infosys & TCS) are also among the front runners. Combined they have already acquired hectors of land in and around Ernakulam District. With the Land prices shooting high "Real estate Mafia"(so called) is also filling up their pockets. With Land prices doubling every four months Middle class business men and even "profession"als are investing their life savings in "Real" Estate. But the big question is still unanswered. "Is she ready??" The Narrow Roads of Broadway and the already busy M.G. Road cannot take any more crowd as it is already over whelmed with the never ending "festive" seasons. The Road traffic and Rail Traffic are already setting new Records of "worstisity". Public service and Governmental Organizations are simply growing into the most unproductive expenditure for the state. Poor Administration, Corruption and Crime Rate are not having any News value any more. The Public sector is clearly not ready for the outburst of Information technology and "Development" But the real problem is else where. The Poor and Narrow roads and lack of basic infrastructure is just the tip of the Iceberg. These problems can be resolved by planning a "New Ernakulam" (Like New Delhi or New Hyderabad) in and around the Aluva-Kalamassery-Kakkanad Area which is going to be the center for the development. The issue of infrastructure will be resolved by opening new Buildings, shopping malls, Constructing new "Broad" Ways and Highways and this can be done with Private sector collaboration. To be continued.