THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as major roads in the city witnessed a makeover in the last decade owing to the efforts by Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Limited (TRDCL), one major road in the city has been awaiting redemption for the past 22 years.
The Vellayambalam-Thycaud stretch was considered a highway earlier. The TRDCL did not intervene in developing the 2.5-kilometre stretch along which the Police Headquarters and the City Police Commissioner’s office are located.
Public Works Department (PWD) officials had entrusted the Trivandrum Development Authority (TRIDA) with carrying out land acquisition for widening the road and installing street lights and a median.
The project was conceived in 1997 and land acquisition orders were issued in 2005. But, the land acquisition process started only in 2012. Through traders along the stretch were compensated for the land acquired, TRIDA failed to rehabilitate some of them. Therefore, land acquisition has been in limbo due to the opposition from a few traders at Vazhuthacaud and Thycaud.
“The land has been acquired in certain places and widening works have begun. But the work is slow and authorities are yet to acquire more land at the Vazhuthacaud junction. During peak hours, the junction creates a bottleneck. Widening the road is the only solution. Authorities should speed up the work and complete it on a war footing,” said Sreedharan, a resident at Vazhuthacaud.
The plan was to widen Sri Moolam Club-Xanadu junction and Amman Kovil junction-Thycaud Hospital stretch.
A senior official with the PWD said efforts are on to resume the acquisition process. The road was to be constructed as per the norms of the Indian Roads Congress, but nothing has happened in this regard so far.
According to MLA V S Sivakumar, the apathy shown by TRIDA has caused uncertainties. “TRIDA has not taken any steps to rehabilitate six traders. I had made a submission in the assembly this year to consider this project as a topmost priority of the government. TRIDA has not even included the MLAs in the city limits in the executive committee of the project,” he said.
Earlier, TRIDA had sought 10 cents of land in the Thycaud guest house compound to rehabilitate the traders in association with the Tourism Department, but it didn’t materialise due to the difference of opinion among government officials.
Meanwhile, C Jayan Babu, chairman, TRIDA, said rehabilitation of four traders at Vazhuthacaud and two traders at Mettukada remains a major hurdle for the road development project.
“The traders have secured a judgment from the Kerala High Court that they could be evicted only after the government gives them a suitable alternative place. We had tried our best to give them land within our guest house premises, but discussion regarding the same is ongoing. We will hold a meeting soon with the Tourism and the Local Self-Government departments to sort out the land acquisition issue,” he said.
Project conceived in 1997
Public Works Department officials had entrusted the Trivandrum Development Authority (TRIDA) with carrying out land acquisition for widening the road and installing street lights and a median. Land acquisition orders were issued in 2005