KOCHI: The Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) authorities have asked the Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) , which had prepared the feasibility study report on the extension of Kochi Metro Rail to Kakkanad, to redesign the alignment that they had come up with.
The decision to redesign the alignment was taken after considering the possibilities that the existing alignment will affect some key institutions like the Kerala Media Academy, statue of Sree Narayana Guru and some high rise buildings in the stretch between Palarivattam Bypass signal and Padamugal Pump junction.
According to the KMRL officials, the agency does not want to acquire land from public organisations like Kerala Media Academy.
They also do not want to hurt the religious sentiments too.
“The owners of some of the high-rise buildings had already expressed their concerns over the acquisition procedures. Acquiring high-rise buildings will result in a steep increase in the land acquisition cost. Hence, RITES was asked to review the alignment,” the official said.
Last month, the authorities had completed the stretch between Kaloor Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium and Kakkanad. The proposed expansion of the Metro Rail to Infopark, via kakkanad, will cover a total of 11.2-km and will be carried out as phase-I(b) of the Kochi Metro Rail project.
As per the plan, there will be 11 stations - Palarivattom Junction, Palarivattom Bypass, Chembumukku, Vazhakkala, Kunnumpuram, Kakkanad Junction, Kochi SEZ, Chittethukara, Rajagiri, InfoPark-I and InfoPark-II. The total estimated cost for extending the project from Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium to Kakkanad is Rs 2,017.46 crore.
For the Kakkanad extension, land acquisition will be a major hurdle for the KMRL, especially on the comparatively narrow stretch between Palarivattom and Padamugal. The total amount set aside for land acquisition is Rs 140.68 crore. An additional 3.85 acres of land are needed for preparatory works under the expansion plan.
The existing alignment will also require the acquisition of major portion of land belonging to Kerala media Academy near the CSEZ. The alignment also may affect the shrine of Sree Narayana Guru at SN Junction in Palarivattam.
traffic curbs in city stretch
Kochi: Due to Metro Rail construction work to held at Ernakulam North Railway Bridge on Tuesday and Wednesday, there would be restriction for traffic at Banarjee road stretch from Kaloor to Ernakulam North. The traffic police have informed that traffic would be restricted over the overbridge from Tuesday 11 am to Wednesday 5 am. The vehicles would be diverted through Kaloor, Kathrikadavu, Pullapady, and Gandhi Nagar area.