KOCHI: Southern Railways has initiated construction of the Aroor-Kumbalam railway bridge, which at 854.5m will be the second longest in the state. The project is scheduled to be completed in two years.
The new structure is being constructed parallel to the existing railway bridge over the Vembanad and Kaithapuzha lakes. This will be the fifth bridge across the two water bodies in the section.
“There are a total of three bridges coming up in the Ernakulam-Aroor section at a cost of `208 crore as part of track doubling of the coastal line. The other two are Konthuruthy-Nettoor (152.5m) and Nettoor-Kumbalam (158.6m). Work on all these bridges is scheduled to be completed in two years,” a railway administrative officer in charge of the project said.
The Ernakulam-Kayamkulam coastal line is 102km long and doubling work has currently been sanctioned on the 23km-long Ernakulam-Kumbalam-Turavur section.
“Track doubling on the Turavur-Ambalapuzha section (45.86km) is yet to be sanctioned though we’ve submitted a detailed project report (DPR) to the Railway Board. Doubling has been completed in the remaining 33km-long Ambalapuzha-Kayamkulam section,” the official added.
Land acquisition for the Ernakulam-Turavur section is in the final stage. “This is expected to be completed by November-end. “Doubling work in the section is targeted to be completed in two years upon completion of the land-acquisition process,” the official said.
Meanwhile, fishermen in the region have warned of protests if construction waste is dumped in the river, as was the case in the previous occasions. “The waste dumped during previous bridge constructions impacted the flow of water and affected livelihoods. We’ve already taken up the issue with railway authorities but they are yet to give any assurance,” said Sunu Raji, a local fisherman.