The coastal town of Rajkot in Gujarat might not resemble Thiruvananthapuram in its design or display. But one of the fastest growing cities in the country is taking some valuable lessons in road development from Thiruvananthapuram. The Thiruvananthapuram City Road Improvement Project (TCRIP) has inspired the Municipal Corporation of Rajkot to copy the project to develop and restructure its roads back home.
A three-member team from Rajkot Municipal Corporation visited the city the other day and met TCRIP and Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) officials to learn about the project that has the city’s 42-km-stretch getting widened and developed. A high-level team of engineers and officials is expected to make a second round of visit soon.
The team visited the major developed roads under the TCRIP and learned about the ongoing development works. ‘’The team was rather impressed with the project and its members felt that the capital city had implemented it really well,’’ said Harikesh P C, chief operating officer of KRFB.
The junction improvement project undertaken by TCRIP at many points, the installation of high-mast lamps, the pedestrian pathways and the landscaping - among other components of the project - saw the team warming up towards the project, officials said.
‘’One of the comments they said was that it appeared a friendly city. There are no huge medians or structures that block pedestrian movement or traffic flow. The footpaths are pedestrian-friendly. From what they said the footpaths in Rajkot are encroached by traders. The team also said that in many cities like Delhi and Mumbai, you see medians that rise up to two feet disrupting public movement. But here the development was not claustrophobic, which is a rather nice compliment for our project,’’ said Anilkumar Pandala, project director, TRDCL (Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Limited ).
According to officials, the Rajkot Municipal Corporation under its JNNURM project is planning a similar road development scheme and wanted to get first-hand information. Though the Rajkot officials have not sought any guidance or help from KRFB, they have expressed keen interest in learning about the project. For which, a high-level team is expected to land in the capital soon.