Even as the work on widening National Highway-66 into a six-lane corridor is progressing, it seems that the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) and the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) are throwing spanner on the work in many areas in the State, if the letters sent by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to the State government are any indication.
The majority of the developed NH stretches in the State have to be opened for traffic in a year as per the deadline fixed for various reaches. However, the average work progress is about 41% from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram as per the latest report.
A letter sent to the government by the NHAI and the project executing company accused the KWA of not having proper drawings to ascertain the location of pipelines under the NH in many areas, especially in central Kerala. For instance, in the Aroor-Thuravur elevated corridor, the drawing provided by the KWA shows only a single pipeline along both sides of the alignment. However, the contractor company could find two to five pipelines along the stretch.
Though the Executive Engineer of the KWA, Alappuzha, was directed to identify the pipelines by creating a trail pit, a team deputed by the KWA spent hardly 3 days at the site. It will take at least 15 days to identify the entire pipelines and their actual length, the NHAI officials say. On the Thuravur-Paravoor stretch in Alappuzha, the drawing of the existing water pipeline has not yet been provided by the authorities.
During excavation along the Kochi-Munnar stretch of the NH-85, pipelines laid under the existing road got damaged, delaying the progress of work. In many areas, pipes were laid in shallow depths and the KWA is not aware of the exact location of the pipelines, they say.
KSEB cables
The shifting of the utility cables of the KSEB has also become an additional liability for the NHAI in many areas. On the Paravoor to Kottukulangara stretch, a proposal submitted by the KSEB includes a considerable amount of enhancement such as type, spacing, size, and specification of poles, lines, cables, transformers and so on to be used in utility shifting works.
Details and technical specifications are missing in the drawing submitted by the KSEB on the Karuvatta-Oachira stretch that falls under the Haripad electric circle.
There are 44 transformers along the Thottappally-Katukulangara stretch, while the proposal submitted by the KSEB demands 87 transformers during the time of shifting load centres. While the power demands and the number of existing consumers remain the same, the number of transformers demanded by the KSEB is 97.7% excess, say the NHAI officials. Since there has been no change in the load capacity, the existing transformers can serve the purpose, they add.
Other curbs
Further, issues like restrictions imposed by the District Collectors for the movement of trucks carrying construction materials during school timing between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. are yet to be addressed despite the issues being taken up at the Chief Minister level, they say.
