KOCHI: Public Works Minister G Sudhakaran has taken objection to the remarks of professor in- charge of the consultancy cell of Mar Athanasius College of Engineering (MACE) that its test on Vyttila flyover was “inconclusive” and that it only “indicates the need for further studies”, which published in Express on Tuesday. Sudhakaran contacted MACE principal Mathew K and asked him to look into consultancy cell professor-in-charge Binoy Alias M’s remarks. “We did the non-destructive test to analyse the quality of work. It’s inconclusive and only indicates the need for further studies.
The test result is subjective and we can’t make a conclusion based on it,” Binoy had told Express. The statement came when the government was justifying its decision to suspend assistant executive engineer V K Shylamol for leaking her inspection report describing the substandard quality of the flyover construction to the media.
Mathew said the minister questioned the need for such a statement from the official concerned at this point of time. “He said the responses were damaging to the government and such remarks create confusion among the public. “The minister pointed out that E Sreedharan had also done a study for PWD, but he didn’t reveal the findings to the media. Instead, he directly submitted his report to the government,” Mathew told Express.
Sudhakaran was unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts. Meanwhile, a PWD official has clarified that the department is yet to receive the MACE report.
“We are yet to receive the third-phase inspection report from Mar Athanasius College of Engineering,” said a PWD official. Meanwhile, the Vyttila Samrakshana Samithi, a group demanding an in-depth investigation into the flyover construction, has filed a petition in the High Court on the issue and the PWD is slated to file an affidavit on it soon.