KOCHI: The widening work on the Thammanam-Pullepady road has been on the backburner for more than 25 years when it was first proposed by the Kochi Corporation to ease traffic congestion in the city. The widening of the particular stretch was included by the state government as part of a district infrastructure development project in 2015 which also didn’t come to fruition.
So far, the widening work by the corporation has been completed only in a small portion from Kathrikadavu junction to Karanakodam bridge. It was done five months back. In some places, land was acquired by the corporation several years back through free surrender.
Presently, even though the corporation has handed over the work to the PWD, the work is yet to begin with the land acquisition process still pending.PWD authorities put the blame on the corporation for the inordinate delay in implementation of the project. “The Kochi Corporation has not officially handed over the land to us, which has stalled the project,” said the PWD source.
However P M Harris, works standing committee chairman, Kochi Corporation, denied these allegations. “The delay was caused due to problems on the contractor’s part and the work will restart shortly. A meeting was also held by the Mayor recently to speed up the process,” Harris said.
According to P T Thomas, MLA, who represents Thrikkakara constituency through which a major portion of the road passes, work will start once the government issues an order stating the change of ownership of the road. He also said that the corporation had sent all the details concerning the land one week ago to the PWD chief engineer.
As per sources, the High Court had asked the district collector and Kochi Corporation secretary to file an affidavit within two weeks detailing the steps taken to complete the work.Apart from solving the traffic woes of the city by providing an easy route for vehicles from the city to reach the highway, the completion of the project will also come as a relief to the landowners in the area.
“Many residents who surrendered their land are yet to get compensation from the government. The residents in the remaining areas have also expressed their willingness to sell their land,” said a member of Thammanam-Pullepady road development committee.
