KOCHI: Perumbavoor, one of the fast developing towns in the district, is facing the same pains which haunt other cities. Among the many issues, the prime and debilitating one is traffic snarls up, especially at the junction which sees three major roads converge.
According to a Rajan, an autorickshaw driver, with the signal going kaput every other day, the traffic bottleneck is very severe here. "Hence, the need for a bypass at the town becomes very pressing. It needs to be taken note that a plan for the construction of the same had been passed in 2013," he said.
The irregular manner in which the traffic is handled here has resulted in three deaths besides many minor accidents. "These days are the lean period, the traffic will increase as the Ramadan season progresses," he added.
The nuisance caused by the traffic snarls up not only affects travel tie but also the businesses of the nearby shops. According to Remya, who runs a beauty parlour, the sound from the horns of the vehicles is deafening. "It is a ruckus here and this, in turn, affects our business since the customers prefer quite when they come to beauty parlours," she said. According to her, the construction of bypass is a big necessity not only for the safety of the motorists but also for the well-being of the businesses.
According to Saju Paul, former MLA, delay in land acquisition is affecting the construction of the bypass.
"The construction of the bypass can begin only if the land acquisition is completed," he said. According to him, the proposal for a bypass was submitted during his tenure. "Even though survey for land acquisition was started under Eldhose Kunnapilly, not much progress has been made," he said.
It has come to fore that a GO was passed in this regard and the project was to be funded by Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).
A total of Rs 350 crore was allotted for the construction of both Angamaly and Perumbavoor bypasses. Around Rs.137.78 crore was solely allotted for the Perumbavoor bypass. The proposed bypass will be 3.76 kilometres long and will be stretching from Palakakattuthazam to Maruthu Junction.
(With inputs from Aravind S Menon).