KOCHI: The railway overbridge (RoB) between Mulanthuruthy and Tripunithura railway stations which has been lying abandoned for the past eight years after the government failed to acquire land for the approach road, seems to be finally getting back to life, at least on paper.On Friday, the state cabinet approved Rs 20.59 crore for constructing the approach road for the RoB, which would replace the existing ‘Level Cross 12’, said Thomas Chazhikadan, Kottayam MP.
It was in 2013 that the state government decided to build an overbridge near the Mulanthuruthy railway station to ease traffic when gates are closed for maintenance work. Since the construction of the bridge is pending, the Railways is not able to permanently shut the railway gate. The acquisition of land has been getting delayed for various reasons. Later, the procedures at the government level were completed, and an amount of Rs 19.16 crore was sanctioned.
“However, when the tender was invited, the contractors demanded more money. Following this, the Roads & Bridges Development Corporation (RBDCK) approached the government for its approval and now the cabinet has sanctioned an amount which is 19 per cent more than the initial amount,” said Chazhikadan.
Earlier, as per an RTI reply given by the railways, the construction of the RoB is a cost-sharing project undertaken by the state government and the Southern Railway. The expense, including land acquisition, is to be shared in the ratio of 50:50. As the amount for the construction of the bridge across the track is borne by the Railways, work on that particular portion has been completed, said RTI activist M T Thomas.
“The construction of the approach road on both sides of the RoB is to be executed by the state government’s RBDCK,” said Thomas. The pending tasks, including land acquisition and inviting tender for the construction of the approach road, should be carried out by RBDCK.
A Railway official said the department can carry out work only on the land it owns.“So, the land needed for the construction of the approach road needs to be acquired by the state revenue department,” said the official.
Though Works Minister P A Mohamed Riyas, in a reply to a question raised by Piravom MLA Anoop Jacob in the assembly in June 2021, said the land acquisition was completed in September 2019, no work has been carried out at the site. Very often, when the railway gate is closed for maintenance work, vehicles that arrive from Kottayam and Koothattukulam sides on their way to Chottanikkara, Nedumbassery, Kakkanad, and Aluva are forced to wait for hours.
