KOCHI: While the Mulanthuruthy rail overbridge (RoB) finally became a reality two months back after a delay of over a decade, another key RoB project at nearby Kureekad is now caught in a land acquisition hurdle.
The total land to be acquired for the project is only 0.77 acres, for which the revenue department had issued the 11 (1) notification back in August 2024. While the rehabilitation and resettlement package was approved and the structural valuation done, the land acquisition (LA) for the `36.89 crore project is yet to make headway due to fund shortage.
“The LA process itself will now take another five to six months, while the RoB construction period is fixed at 18 months. We are waiting for the tahsildar to transfer the fund. The project cost is now governed by the Delhi Schedule Rate (DSR) 2021,” said a top official of the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK), which is implementing the project.
The KIIFB, which is funding the project, approved the DPR back on July 31, 2020, and it got the nod of the General Administration Department (GAD) on July 25, 2022. As per the DPR, the RoB will have a total length of 428.17 m and a width of 10.20 m.
Meanwhile, the residents have urged the authorities to speed up the land acquisition and construction activities as the frequent closure of the railway gate coupled with the absence of an RoB has been making their lives difficult. A serpentine queue of vehicles is a frequent phenomenon at the railway gate, which is located close to the Chottanikkara Road railway station.
“Since the railway gate falls on the busy Ernakulam-Kottayam section, the gates will be closed frequently. Even on a Sunday, there will be a long queue of vehicles during morning and evening peak hours. So nothing needs to be told about the weekdays or worse, at times when the schools too are open,” rued Binoy Pattasseril, a resident of Kureekad, who is working as a civilian in the Indian Navy.
“The authorities conducted a formal inauguration at the nearby station just before the last Parliament election, but no work has been carried out thereafter,” he said.
Another resident Eugen Jose, a contractor, said the section witnesses a heavy traffic flow, as vehicles, including bigger ones, choose the route to reach Puthiyakavu and then proceed either to Kottayam or Ernakulam direction. “The vehicles take this route to avoid the bottlenecks in crowded areas like Thiruvankulam.
Further, the tankers coming from the IOC plant at Nadakkavu, too ply through this route. It will be a hell of a place when the school reopens with the vehicles trapped in traffic snarl-ups for nearly an hour on certain occasions,” Jose said.
Once the Kureekad RoB becomes a reality, the railways will be able to close down the nearby Thukalan and Kadungamangalam LC gates.
The railway authorities said they would be able to carry out the construction in the area under their control within the stipulated time once the RBDCK starts the project work.