October 20, 2025

The Container Terminal Road, stretching 16 km between Kalamassery and Vallarpadam in Kochi, has again made headlines – and sadly, not for the right reasons. A young woman, Liby V.K., who worked as a senior clerk in the Kochi Corporation, lost her life after being hit by a container lorry at Ponnarimangalam last Friday. This tragic accident exposes the dark reality of a road known for frequent crashes, especially involving two-wheelers. Why is this road so risky? Locals point fingers at heavy traffic congestion around the Goshree bridges, poor or missing streetlights, and awkward road and junction designs. Add to that the chaos from container lorries parking along the street without any control. "Accidents have been happening frequently on the stretch but only fatal ones get public attention," said Abhijith John of Nerkazhcha Vedhi, a civic forum. "In the latest incident, which claimed a woman’s life, lack of adequate light and reckless riding of container lorries played a role." Though official work installed streetlights two months ago, a dark patch remains between Cheranalloor Junction and Bolghatty Junction. To make matters worse, this stretch is home to many stray dogs. "The dogs jump in front of bikes which then skid off," Mr. John added. Such dangers are not new; in 2019, a 22-year-old youth died after falling off his bike trying to avoid a stray dog, only to be hit by a truck behind him. Who is responsible? The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) claims it has installed all the streetlights but blames Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) for not powering them. An NHAI source said, "The KSEB has sought more transformers to charge them but it is not in our scope." KSEB responded that charging the whole lighting system requires six transformers, but only two are working. The others remain non-operational because existing transformers are overloaded. So, Container Terminal Road continues to be a dangerous patch for commuters. Until the lighting, traffic, and stray dog problems are solved, it remains a risky ride every day.

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Tags: Container terminal road, Accidents, Streetlights, Kochi, Traffic, Nhai,