KOCHI: Amid the lack of clarity regarding the commissioning of the first phase of Kochi Metro Rail project, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will chair a high-level meeting on December 11, which is expected to draw up an action plan and set a proper time frame for its completion.
“We have already conveyed the concerns of the civic administrators and general public on the lack of clarity regarding the actual date of the Kochi Metro Rail commissioning. The meeting is expected to be held in two sessions-- first with the Metro officials and then with the people’s representatives,” said CPM district chief P Rajeeve.
Earlier, there were apprehensions that the Metro Rail project may not be able to meet the deadline going by the current pace of the construction activities.
“Moreover, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) authorities said the civil works along the Metro Rail corridor up to Palarivattom will be completed by December. But commissioning up to Palarivattom will not do any good for the project . It will increase the traffic congestion further as the passengers, who alight at Palarivattom, will have to seek alternate ways to reach their destination,” added Rajeeve.
He said the first phase should extend at least till Maharaja’s College to offer better connectivity to the city centre.
“The meeting convened by the Chief Minister is expected to formulate a time frame for the project,” he said.Though the civil works along the stretch extending up to Palarivattom are progressing, the station work is yet to be completed. This is expected to further hold up the project as the completed stations ought to be handed over to Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) for them to carry out the thematic designing and exterior decorations.
The entire layout work is likely to take more than two months. The Chief Minister had recently asked the DMRC officials to see to it that the first phase would indeed be commissioned by April 2017.