KOCHI: A few days after the Supreme Court issued an order favouring the state government’s plea to reconstruct the Palarivattom flyover, the Kerala Government Contractors’ Association has come out against the government. According to the association, the government has committed a huge mistake by deciding to rebuild the bridge.
“The contractor had asked for permission to repair minor cracks in girders at his own expense. Neither the government nor the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation was able to provide a complete and effective direction in this regard. Had all five recommendations of the IIT Madras been carried out at the expense of the contractor, there would have been only a three-month traffic jam,” said KGCA president Varghese Kannampally.
The association also alleged the logic behind the proposal to repair the top portion of the bridge without resolving the problems with girders is mysterious. Meanwhile, former Mayor Tony Chammany demanded that the government should initiate measures to recover the cost of rebuilding the Palarivattom flyover from RDS, the construction company.