Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday strongly criticised the incident in which a French tourist was injured after falling into an open drain in Fort Kochi. "What will the outside world think of Kochi and Kerala?" asked Justice Devan Ramachandran while directing the District Collector to submit a detailed report on the matter. The incident occurred last week when the French tourist broke his femur (thigh bone) after falling into a drain that had been left open for renovation work.
“A tourist fell into an open drain. How shameful is that?" Justice Ramachandran remarked. "Won’t people begin to think of Kochi as a place that is not even fit for walking? How can you expect to promote tourism with incidents like this? Such events not only tarnish the city’s image but affect the entire state’s standing on the tourism map. Nobody seems to take responsibility here; this is the state of affairs," the judge continued.
The court also instructed the amicus curiae to visit the under-construction Aroor-Thuravur National Highway and submit a report on its current status.
