KOCHI: Thevara is growing rapidly. With the surge in commercial establishments, residential complexes and office spaces over the past decade, many believe there is an urgent need to address Thevara's ever-increasing traffic needs. Taking this into consideration, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, which conducted a pre-feasibility study of the Pandit Karuppan Road connecting Thevara Junction, has proposed an elevated marine driveway along the Thevara waterfront, from the Thevara Junction towards the Kundannur-Thoppumpady highway.
According to the study, the four-lane elevated driveway, which will come parallel to the Pandit Karuppan Road, is adequate to transfer the traffic from the junction to Ernakulam and other parts of the region. The project can be completed in a span of two years. Walkways and parking facility will also be developed as part of the proposal.
The DMRC traffic study reveals parking on either side of the Pandit Karuppan Road has also led to the congestion. The average carriage width of Pandit Karuppen Road is hardly seven meters, compared to the daily maximum and average traffic in number of passenger car units (PCUs) is traffic 13,360 and 13,183 respectively.
The proposal for the driveway was first mooted by authorities of Sacred Heart College as part of their platinum jubilee year celebrations. According to Fr Prasant, principal, SH College, an alternative solution to the increasing traffic towards and from Thevara had to be addressed at the earliest.
"In the past, Thevara remained connected to the city only through MG Road. Today, however, when the Seaport–Airport road section from Kundannur to Willington Island, was developed a decade ago, traffic to the area has increased tremendously. This is why we, along with representatives of the Navy, Shipyard, Port Trust, CREDAI and resident's associations decided to rope in E Sreedharan, principal advisor to the DMRC, to decide on a solution for the traffic hassles. It was after several deliberations that the DMRC decided to conduct a feasibility study for an elevated highway here for free. The study has been submitted to us," he said.
According to commuters, the road leading from the Shipyard located at Perumanoor is the most congested and the situation gets worse during the morning and evening hours. "Several important institutions are located in the route which is why the traffic is increasing on a daily basis. The authorities should take steps to ease the congestion, especially during the peak hours," said Faizal T, an employee.
Meanwhile, K V Thomas MP, who is the chairperson of the SH Jubilee organising committee and former alumni of the college, said the marine highway will change the face of Thevara, once it is implemented. "Initially, there were fears that land acquisition will have to be conducted for the purpose. However, the elevated highway project is apt for Thevara as it does not require any land acquisition.
There are a few more suggestions that need to be incorporated into the present pre-feasibility report. Once that is approved by the DMRC, we will put forward the suggestion to the state government. It is estimated that the cost for the highway is R250 crore," he said.
The study says the Cochin Port Trust had initiated a proposal for Thevara Marine Reclamation Scheme from Rail-cum-road bridge upto the south end of Thevara during the year 1990. Environmental clearance for this proposal was obtained during 1992. This scheme was sanctioned by Cochin Port Trust for implementation during 2002. However, due to some reasons, the project could not be implemented.