KOCHI: The decision to demolish and reconstruct the Palarivattom flyover has been welcomed by most Kochiites but a few others have pointed out that the work will worsen the traffic movement in the city.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced on Monday that the work on the new flyover will commence in the first week of October.
Rittu Ann who frequently travels through Palarivattom welcomed the decision. “The flyover was a nightmare. The best decision is to reconstruct the flyover,” she said.
Sambasivan Kalarickal, a shopkeeper at Civil Line Road, said reconstruction will prove to be more effective in the long run. “They should have completed the reconstruction much earlier. The officials responsible for the mess must be suspended and all benefits and perks made unavailable to them,” Sambasivan said.
“Since there is no other alternative, this is the best decision. Safety should be our priority,” said L Kumar, an Indian Oil Corporation employee. He said that arterial roads must be made motorable before the commencement of the flyover work.
Michael Arakkal, a civil engineer, thinks that the flyover hardly solves traffic issues in the area. “The current flyover doesn’t divert much of the traffic. It will be better if we can construct something like a cloverleaf junction connecting several roads,” he said.
According to Deepak S C, who lives in Kadavanthra, working on a stable solution is better since the flyover poses a serious threat. “It is already too late. Anyway, all of us are accustomed to the traffic issues now. So why can’t we wait for a stable solution?” Deepak said.
However, for Udaya Kumar, an autorickshaw driver, the decision to demolish and construct a new flyover appears to be a bad decision. He said the completion of the new flyover will take a minimum of two years.
“How is it possible to complete the construction in a year? By the time, the traffic situation will become worse. Adding to our woes is the surge in oil prices. They must carry out the repair work in different phases allowing passage of light vehicles on one lane,” he said.