KOCHI: The rebuilt Palarivattom flyover was opened on Sunday to traffic, ending the months-long wait of city residents. Since the Model Code of Conduct(MCC) is in force on account of the coming assembly polls, it was Works Department (NH division) chief engineer M Ashok Kumar who opened the flyover to cheers from people.
Works Minister G Sudhakaran, who visited the site on Sunday ahead of the inauguration, was the first person to travel through the newly-opened flyover in his vehicle. Several hundred vehicles passed through the flyover after the inauguration.
“There shouldn’t be a second such instance in the state. The reconstruction was delayed due to the intervention of a mafia, which attempted to stall the work. If not for them, the reconstruction could have been completed earlier. The stay order by the High Court, directing that a load test be conducted, held up the work for around nine months,” said the minister, who expressed his gratitude to the people for their cooperation which ensured early completion of the work.
CPM and BJP workers arrived in separate processions to the flyover. While CPM workers raised slogans hailing the LDF government for completing the flyover, BJP activists congratulated E M Sreedharan who supervised the work for Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The flyover was rebuilt at a cost of Rs 22.68 crore.
The construction was carried out by the Uralungal Labour Contract Society under the supervision of DMRC. Though the work was scheduled for completion in eight months, the company managed to finish the work in five-and-a-half months. DMRC had conducted a load test and handed over the completion certificate on March 3.