Thammanam-Pulleppady road widening hits bottleneck

As the Kochi Corporation has failed widen Thammanam-Pulleppady road, various stakeholders have demanded to entrust the work to the State Public Works Department (PWD) and include it in the preparatory works for Kochi Metro Rail. The widening of the road is crucial for diverting the traffic during the construction of Kochi Metro.

As per the proposed plan for widening the 2.8-km Thammanam-Pulleppady stretch, the road, with a width of 18 m, will be widened to 22 m. A total of 20 acres of land will have to be acquired for widening and rehabilitation. The estimated cost of land acquisition is Rs 171 crore.

The Corporation is not in a financial position to carry out the work and the PWD authorities, at a recently held meeting of various stakeholders of city’s development convened by Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL), had expressed their willingness to undertake the work if it is handed over to them. The notification for land acquisition was issued last month and the District Administration has launched the preliminary steps for widening.

The State Government had allocated Rs 25 crore for land acquisition and another Rs 50 crore is needed for further acquisition. The Corporation authorities had already requested the State for providing them sufficient funds for acquisition.