In a move which may once again disrupt the work of the Kochi metro rail at the Kalamassery casting yard, the Eloor municipality has decided to bar all vehicles being used for the metro rail work from the Puthalam Kadavu road to enter the yard. The decision was passed at a council meeting held at the municipality the other day.
If implemented, the decision will stall the work of the Metro rail as the Kalamassery casting yard is used mainly by the Soma Constructions for pre-casting girders and other works. The KMRL had officially taken over the land last month and handed it over to the DMRC for the construction of the casting yard. Eloor municipality ward member Abdul Razak said that the municipality has given three more days to the DMRC after which all the vehicles being used for the metro work would be blocked.
“This is a public road and there is a school operating in the area. It is extremely dangerous to allow these vehicles to frequent the roads as it would pose danger for the school students as well as the public. We have asked the DMRC to stop operating their vehicles along the route and find another route,” Abdul Razak said. He added that they have suggested the DMRC to construct a road connecting the land at FACT to the Vallarpadam Container terminal.
However, the DMRC officials said that the municipality’s request was baseless.“ When the FACT Udyogamandal leased out 4.05 hectares of land to the DMRC for the work, there were no instructions barring the use the route. To ensure safety of the people, we have agreed to widen and maintain the 400 metre road. We have also assured them that the vehicles won’t be operated during the school hours. Despite this, the municipality authorities are not showing any cooperation in this regard.
They are also not willing for any discussions on the matter. If this issue is not resolved soon, we fear that the work will be affected indefinitely,” officials with the DMRC said.
They added that constructing a new road for the vehicles to enter the yard would be a waste of money.
“Already, there were issues when we cut down trees for the casting yard here. If a new road is to be constructed, several more trees would have to be cut down which will draw flak from environmentalists. Also, the construction of a new road would cost Rs 50 lakh,” the officials said.
The DMRC is expected to bring up the issue before KMRL Managing Director Elias George soon.