Much-needed development of road infrastructure in Vattiyoorkavu - one of the fastest developing regions of the capital city - is set to be taken up with the widening of three roads, totalling 15 km, branching off from the Vattiyoorkavu Junction.
Land acquisition for road development will be kicked off soon. The development of the roads to Sasthamangalam, Vayalikkada and Nettayam is being taken up in the second phase of the Thiruvananthapuram City Road Improvement Programme (T-CRIP) which will be rolled out soon, officials of the Thiruvananthapuram Development Authority (TRIDA) said.
T-CRIP Phase II plans to develop around 150 km of capital city roads.’’These roads have to be widened. T-CRIP Phase I developed 42.6 km of roads in the capital and on the eastern side, the roads have been developed up to Sasthamangalam. In fact, we’ve received administrative sanction for the work and TRIDA has been appointed nodal agency for the land acquisition. We hope to start it within two weeks,’’ said TRIDA chairman P K Venugopal.
Touted to become a satellite township in its own right in the near future, Vattiyoorkavu has been witnessing heavy activity in the past two years, especially in the housing sector. But many of the roads here leave much to be desired. The local people list at least four roads that require urgent attention from the authorities: Vattiyoorkavu Junction to Vayalikkada, Vattoyoorkavu Junction to Kulasekharam, Vattiyoorkavu Junction to Polytechnic and the road from Manjadimoola to Manrakkonam School.
‘’During peak hours, these roads are choked with vehicles. The Vattiyoorkavu Junction itself requires attention. In fact, small changes like shifting of the market and the bus stop from there itself will improve things a lot,’’ said P Jayadevan Nair, a resident of PTP Nagar and cultural wing convener of the Federation of Residents Associations Thiruvananthapuram (FRAT).
‘’The region also requires more traffic policemen,’’ he said.
It is projected that Vattiyoorkavu would develop into a satellite township in the near future with the city expanding outwards. The going price for land has already risen in the area, touching Rs 5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh for a cent in interior regions.