The state government has given an in principle nod for the reconstruction of the Ernakulam South RoB. Announcing the decision after the review meeting of the Kochi Metro Rail on Thursday, Minister Aryadan Mohammed said it was decided that the work would be carried out after providing adequate budgetary provisions for both the land-acquisition and works component in the State’s annual budget.
Regarding apprehensions that the reconstruction work of the South RoB cannot be carried out once the viaducts are constructed, E Sreedharan, the principal adviser to the DMRC, said the Metro rail construction will not affect the RoB reconstruction. He said that landing area of the RoB will be widened by three metres to make up for the space that will be taken up for the space construction of the viaduct. Regarding the shifting of pipelines at SA Road, Arayadan said that the work would be immediately executed by the KWA. “The additional amount required for the shifting would be made available by the KWA. The work at the first stretch, for which tenders have been floated, will be completed within 60 days and handed over to the KMRL by January 1, 2014. The next half of the stretch would be completed in another 30 days. A total of 90 days would be required for the completion of the work,” he added.
Another issue discussed at the meeting was the reconstruction of the culvert near PVS Hospital at Kaloor. The low-lying culvert is one of the major reasons for water logging in the area. The meeting decided to entrust the PWD to submit a feasibility report in this regard before the State Cabinet.