kochi its not exactly the back of the beyond but when it comes to civic or infrastructure projects the west kochi region comprising fort kochi mattancherry thoppumpady palluruthy kumbalangi chellanam and edakochi generally gets the thick end of the stick except for fort kochi which receives some projects thanks to its tourism potential the rest of the region with a population of about 25 lakh is still facing chronic issues such as waterlogging shortage of water supply proper sanitation facilities better transport and badly damaged and maintained roads while the kochi corporation and greater cochin development authority gcda announce special packages for west kochi in their budgets every year and promise equitable development residents tell a tale of neglect and lack of initiative when it comes to implementing even promised projects according to residents associations authorities have always ignored the needs and aspirations of people residing in the region except for a few projects at fort kochi as part of tourism development authorities including the district administration have largely ignored development of these regions said ernakulam district residents association apex council edraac member p m xavier in the 201314 budget deputy mayor b bhadra announced projects worth rs 10 crore for solving waterlogging replacing water supply pipelines and other schemes a sewerage treatment plant was also promised for west kochi to put an end to the practice of draining water into canals the water supply pipelines between bristo road and the eastern part of mattacnherry bridge were to be replaced the civic body had also set apart rs 10 lakh for preparing a project report on a sustainable development project for edakochi nearly five months after these projects were announced there has not been any attempt to get them started the gcda which earmarked rs 10 crore for constructing an ambitious indoor stadium and sports complex in west kochi and proposed a bizarre ropeway at mundamveli at an expense fo rs 1 crore has also not fared any better jaison c cooper a resident and government employee from west kochi said all these announcements still remain on paper local residents were not consulted or taken into confidence while planning these projects the officials hardly take into consideration the peoples needs and overlook geographical aspects while drafting largescale projects he said according senior bjp councilor shyamala prabhu the corporations apathy has extended to the maintenance of its own property in west kochi the zonal offices are poorly maintained and many important documents and records kept there have been lost or damaged in the last budget the corporation had promised to set up a science and technology museum at palluruthy after shifting the relief settlement to edakochi there was also a plan to construct a multiplex after reclaiming the land leased for kokers theatre these were some fancy projects when the local body faced severe criticism they didnt mention these projects in the next budget said shyamala prabhu