THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The works of the hill highway passing through Parassala in the capital has resumed. The new contractor, the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society has started the survey for tarring the first stretch - the 15.70-km-long Parassala-Kudappanamoodu road. The original deadline for completing the first stretch was December 12, 2020. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be met due to the untimely death of the first contractor. The work of the first stretch was assigned to Sukumaran, a contractor and retired engineer of the Works Department.
He died of Covid-19 and his kin are unwilling to continue the business. Now the contractor’s family has been paid the amount for the work done and the rest of the work was re-tendered, according to Parassala MLA C K Hareendran. The road development includes road widening, construction of sewage lines and ducts and removing constructions like buildings and compound walls on the land acquired for widening. The new road will be built scientifically with sufficient provisions to channel the storm water. It will be built using the BMBC method with a width of 9 metres. The renovation of major junctions and construction of footpaths and retaining walls are also part of the project.
The delay in the road work had earlier snowballed into a controversy with people airing criticism on social media. The MLA, however, attributed the delay to factors like the general lockdown, containment zone announcements and the closure of quarries. The other stretches of the hill highway passing through Parassala are the 7.85 km-long Kudappanamoodu-Kallikkad road and the 3.90 km-long Kallikkad-Paruthippally road. The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) had sanctioned Rs 103 crore. The first stretch is to be completed in one year. The ULCC has quoted Rs46.85 crore for its execution.