THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Manaveeyam Veedhi, which stretches from the statue of evergreen poet-lyricist Vayalar Ramavarma on Museum-Vellayambalam Road and ends at the Althara Junction, where the busts of two other cultural icons — music maestro G Devarajan and poet-lyricist P Bhaskaran — stand as sentinels, is gearing up for a major facelift.
The work on turning the 180 m-long popular cultural corridor of the city into a smart road and cultural street is progressing fast. The work is being carried out by Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (SCTL).
“Currently, the re-laying of the overhead utility lines is being carried out. The electricity lines and other overhead cables will be removed and underground utility ducts are being set up for them. The idea is to present a clean, aesthetically beautiful road without any overhead lines. Simultaneously, work on turning the road into a cultural street is being carried out and the road will be open in two months’ time,” said an SCTL official.
The street is noted for being the hub of all cultural events and hosts a plethora of artworks. The project envisages facilitating the current activities in the Manaveeyam Veedhi by giving the street a physical makceover and converting it into a cultural street in all sense. The new streetscape design is pedestrian dominant and universally accessible.
The design components, include a covered venue, sculptures, art gallery space, exercise park, street library, gender-friendly toilets, drinking water fountains, food kiosks and cycle parking area.“The partly covered venue will enable programmes to be conducted. A street library will be set up and there will be an art space with art supplies where artists can come and do graffiti on the walls. Hydraulic bollard lights will be provided, which will be useful to control traffic when programmes are conducted,” the official added.
A separate lane for cyclists was there in the original plan but it will not be executed here. “We have identified a separate road for that. The project will be announced soon,” he added. Currently, the smart road work is being carried out at Taluk Office Road and 46 km-long stretch of roads in the city will be made smart by the SCTL.
