Jayasurya, the National Award-winning Malayalam actor, who had earlier criticised the poor road infrastructure in Kerala, took to his social media handle on Saturday to laud Public Works Department (PWD) Minister PA Mohammed Riyas for his positive response.
Jayasurya was invited as the chief guest to a PWD event on Thursday. While addressing the gathering, the actor brought up the issue of poor roads in Kerala. “If rains are cited as the reason for not repairing roads, then Cherrapunji would never have roads,” he had said, adding, “Some people struggle to pay road tax. They even take loans or pledge their wife’s jewellery. So the public deserves good roads.”
The actor noted that he recently went to Vagamon for the shooting of his upcoming film John Luther and noticed that the road conditions were very poor. “I called Riyas and informed him. He immediately contacted the concerned authorities and gave me a proper explanation,” he added, appreciating the minister for the prompt response.
Following the event, Minister Riyas said that the LDF government welcomes Jayasurya’s criticism. “Everyone has the right to express their opinion. Incessant rains have been interrupting the work of the Public Works Department. The government is trying to find solutions to this problem,” the minister said. He also noted that Cherrapunji has only a 10,000 km road stretch while Kerala has over 3.5 lakh km of road. “It is also important to remember that the vast majority of roads in the state have not been significantly damaged in these adverse weather conditions,” he added.
Two days after the event, on Saturday, Jayasurya took to his social media handle and noted that he had pointed out the shortcomings after getting the minister’s permission. He also stated that all of us spend a good percentage of our lives on the road and it is natural for any citizen to react to the pathetic conditions of the roads, including him.
“When people die on the road, who is responsible? Where do they complain?” Jayasurya had questioned on Thursday. He had further suggested providing the contact details of road contractors to the public, so the public could hold them responsible if there’s an issue.
In his Facebook post on Saturday, the actor noted that Minister Riyas had agreed to implement this suggestion. “Mr Riyaz is a minister who listens to our voice and values it. I am proud of his work so far,” he added.
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On Sunday, addressing the media, the minister promised good maintenance of all roads in the state.
It may be noted that Jayasurya’s concerns over bad roads date back to 2013. When potholes at Menaka junction in Kochi city caused the death of two individuals, the actor had reached the spot and took the initiative to fill up the potholes himself. Later in 2016, Jayasurya posted a video on Facebook in which he appealed to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for better roads in the state.