THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The development of the congested Balaramapuram junction, as part of the four-laning of the Karamana-Kaliyikkavila road project, has reached a stalemate as the traders in the area and members of the road development action council are at loggerheads over constructing the proposed underpass in the busy area.
Even the CPM-led panchayat passed a resolution last week against the state government’s proposal to build an underpass at Balarampuram junction to avoid traffic congestion.
The traders’ associations and the action council recently conducted separate protests at Balaramapuram, opposing and supporting the project, respectively. Both parties sought immediate intervention from the government to resolve the matter.
Owing to the uncertainty, the widening of the 1.5-km road from Kodinada to Vazhimukku has hit a roadblock. However, the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB), the executing agency of the project, has decided to go forward with the underpass proposal.
The underpass has been proposed from Kodinada to Chaliyar Street on the main road, an area that has seen significant work done as part of the Karamana-Kaliyikkavila road development project.
The traders allege that any further construction in the area would undo all the good work done so far. Moreover, the fact that more land needs to be acquired to build service roads for the underpass has left many scalling the project ‘unscientific’.
Salim, a trader and landowner at Balaramapuram, said the decision to construct an underpass in the area is a ploy to sabotage the road development project. “The underpass will further delay the road widening. As per the plan, the government needs to acquire land from Kodinada to implement the project. This cannot be done as owners already gave up their land to develop the Pravachambalam-Kodinada stretch.
It would be impossible and against the law to ask them for more land. Moreover, as Balaramapuram is a town popular for handlooms, many people come here to buy the products. But, if an underpass is constructed, the number of persons entering the town will reduce and our business will be badly hit,” he said.
S K Jayakumar, general secretary of the Karamana-Kaliyikkavila road development action council, said the members of the organisation would soon meet Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Public Works Minister P A Mohamed Riyas and ask them to intervene in the issue. He said the action council will extend its full support to the government to proceed with the project.
“Earlier, the traders sabotaged a proposed underpass on the Kattakkada-Vizhinjam road. We will not allow them to scuttle the project at Balaramapuram too. Commuters should not be stranded in the middle of traffic anymore. Though the majority of traders in the area are in support of the underpass, some, led by five to six rich businessmen, are opposing it,” said Jayakumar.
According to a top official with the KRFB’s project management unit, the underpass project is still on.
“We will go ahead with the proposal to construct the underpass. It is the only solution to the traffic woes in the busy junction. We will not be holding any more hearings with the landowners,” the official said.
As per the KRFB’s latest plan, the land for the underpass will be acquired along the Old Rajapatha road near Thykkapalli mosque.
Officials said only a small portion of land on the 300-metre stretch needs to be acquired from private owners, as most of the land is already in the state’s possession. The second reach of the six-lane Karamana-Kaliyikkavila highway, from Pravachambalam to Kodinada in Balaramapuram, was commissioned in February 2021.
Meanwhile, the administrative sanction for the beautification of the median and installing street lights from Killipalam to Pravachamblam is likely to be accorded this month. The total estimate for the project is `3.8 crore, which will be released from the KIIFB. Earlier, the median in this part of the stretch had become a waste dumping yard due to the lack of upkeep. Road accidents were also a regular affair in this stretch due to the absence of street lights.
Sources said the administrative sanction will be obtained this month, and the PWD will go ahead with the tender proceedings. “We hope that the work can be started within two months,” said the source.
Road widening hit