Residents in Eroor can heave a sigh of relief as almost 25 years after the project was introduced, the authorities have started the land acquisition procedures for Eroor-Mathoor railway over bridge.
According to the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation Private Limited, around one acre land will be acquired for the bridge at Eroor.
“The state level committee has approved the land price and one cent will be purchased with `7.75 lakh. The revenue department will purchase the land and they will hand over it to RBDC soon. We hope the state government will soon allot the estimated fund for the land acquisition,” said Alex, Deputy General Manager, RBDC.
He also expressed hope that all obstacles to the speedy completion of the projects would be cleared soon.
“The project is implemented jointly by railway authorities and RBDC. But, the railway authorities are yet to get permission for doing their part of the project from their head office. We hope that the railway will also get sanction before the completion of the land acquisition,” he added.
Meanwhile, Excise Minister K Babu’s office informed that the total estimated cost of the project was `28.57 crore.
“Kochi Refinery will grant Rs 1 crore for the project. Also, the development funds of Excise Minister K Babu and Union Minister K V Thomas are also available to ensure the timely completion of the project,” the office informed.
Meanwhile residents have demanded the authorities to avoid further delay of the project.
“Though politicians had announced the construction of the bridge several years ago, the project is still going at a slower pace. We had to wait more than 25 years to see positive development of the project,” the residents said.
They further said that life had become hell owing to the traffic congestion in the area.
“The over bridge is considered as the only solution to the traffic congestion in the area. Now, the residents including students, have to wait for hours to get the access through the railway gate,” they said.
If an urgent hospital case arises, people will have to use alternative routes like Vyttila which is more time-consuming. The people in the area have been living with these difficulties for a long time,” they added.