Over two months since it put up traffic direction and diversion boards on NH Bypass and other roads, Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) is yet to begin work in right earnest to clear traffic bottlenecks on alternative roads identified to divert vehicles from Civil Line Road and other corridors, where piling is set to begin for the metro’s 11.20-km Kakkanad extension.
The bottlenecks that abound on roads that take off from NH Bypass and end at Seaport-Airport Road include encroachments, posts of KSEB and private telecom service providers that ought to be relocated to the side, and slabs that are either missing over drains or were laid higher than the road surface.
Rajappan, Vennala regional secretary of Ernakulam District Residents’ Associations’ Apex Council (EDRAAC), said precious little had been done to clear encroachments and bottlenecks on Puthiya Road, Chakkaraparambu Road, and innumerable other corridors that take off from NH Bypass, which would be used to divert light vehicles from Civil Line Road that would be barricaded (at eight-metre width) to build the Kochi metro viaduct.
“With traffic snarls mounting on Civil Line Road even before metro’s piling began, vehicles could have used these corridors to reach Palachuvadu and other junctions on the eastern side, and proceeded further eastward up to Seaport-Airport Road, if obstacles over them had been cleared by the agencies concerned. Faced with inordinate delay in this regard, EDRAAC has decided to take this up at the face-to-face that the Chief Minister will hold on Saturday with representatives of residents’ associations,” he added.
The residents’ council has been citing the urgent need to widen Alinchuvadu, Palachuvadu and Vennala High School junctions, among others.
Making matters worse, Kochi Corporation has done little to repair or resurface potholes on the roads, including Puthiya Road, where members of the public put up posters criticising the civic agency. Wider roads that are free of obstacles and potholes are crucial to divert motorists who would otherwise travel all the way up to Palarivattom Junction and turn eastward to Civil Line Road in order to reach Kakkanad, Infopark and other destinations.
The EDRAAC and merchant bodies have been demanding that the State government take a cue from the past when ample funds were allotted to develop diversion roads and to build overbridges and flyovers, prior to commencement of piling for Kochi metro’s Phase 1 works on the Aluva-Pettah stretch. The EDRAAC handed over a charter of 18 demands, mostly regarding acute traffic-congestion issues, at the Navakerala Sadas session held in Kochi.
KMRL sources said its officials and those of agencies such as the PWD held a joint inspection of diversion routes in February to identify obstacles and come up with solutions. The District Collector was to take a call on a plan that was readied following the inspection, they added.
