KOCHI: A railway overbridge sanctioned eight years ago at Kureekad will soon be realised, with the land acquisition process getting a new push. The project was delayed due to land acquisition issues. As per the documents published on the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK) website, the Detailed Project Report (DPR) was approved in 2020 and had even got the General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) approved by the Railways.
As per the RBDCK, the project was sanctioned for an amount of `36.89 crore and the total land to be acquired was only 0.77 acres. The revenue department had also issued the 11 (1) notification back in August 2024.
While the rehabilitation and resettlement package was approved and the structural valuation done, the land acquisition didn’t make any headway due to fund shortage. As per the DPR, the RoB will have a total length of 428.17 m and a width of 10.20 m.
The residents have been urging the authorities to speed up land acquisition and construction activities as frequent closure of the railway gate, coupled with the absence of the RoB, has made their lives difficult.
Once the Kureekad RoB becomes a reality, the railways will be able to close down the nearby Thukalan and Kadungamangalam LC gates.
Meanwhile, Minister Anoop Jacob said that action has been initiated for land acquisition for the Kureekad RoB and is in final stage. “The Collectorate has received 17 Detailed Valuation Statement reports regarding land valuation for acquiring land for the Kureekad RoB.
The collector has assured that approval will be given for these within three days. Subsequently, funds will be made available for land acquisition,” he said.
Thiruvankulam Jn widening
With Thiruvankulam and Karingachira roads being identified as black spots in the reports of the Union Ministry of Surface Transport, discussions were held with the National Highways Authority of India regarding land acquisition to rectify these areas.
The project director of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) informed Minister Anoop Jacob that the plan is to acquire land at Thiruvankulam Junction.