KOCHI: The residents of Aluva Andicompany have submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking his intervention to maintain 13.8-metre width for the proposed Aluva-Munnar road from Aluva Powerhouse to Andicompany junction as against the proposed PWD plan of 23.7 metres width.
“The residents of Andicompany are a worried lot after the PWD’s proposed road map for the Aluva-Munnar road was published. As per the PWD road map, the width from Aluva-Pulinchodu to Aluva Powerhouse is kept at 13.8 metres. However, as per the town limit rule, the road should have only 13.8 metres till Andicompany,” said the memorandum, a copy of which was also submitted to Aluva MLA Anwar Sadath.
“The distance from Aluva Powerhouse to Andicompany is 500 metres. The PWD needs to maintain 13.8-metre width only for half a kilometre, which will help people like me from not vacating our small piece of land,” said Sherly K A, who owns just over one cent of land near the Andicompany Junction in Aluva. “The entire area under Aluva town limit should have a uniform road width,” she said. “If the PWD maintains 13.8-metre width within the town limit, it will help save a large number of shops and establishments situated on the roadside, said Shibu Dominic, coordinator, Aluva-Munnar Road Action Council, in the memorandum.
Sherly said she had constructed a house on her one cent of land at Andicompany. “I have not even repaid the loan for the house. If the land is acquired, I’m not sure if I will get the real value of my land,” she said.
The Rs 653-crore Aluva-Munnar road project involves the construction of a new road between Aluva and Munnar, and the upgrading of the existing routes. The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board has funded the project.