The Hindu : Front Page : Work on Alappuzha bypass to begin soon

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Wednesday, Feb 13, 2008
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Work on Alappuzha bypass to begin soon

Staff Reporter

Mons Joseph to discuss the issue with the Centre.

ALAPPUZHA: Public Works Minister Mons Joseph has said the State will accord first priority to the Alappuzha bypass among the Centrally-funded projects that would be taken up with the Union government.

Admitting that PWD officials had failed in assessing the project and submitting the report on time to the Centre, Mr. Joseph said the procedural bottlenecks had now been sorted out. The confusion over whether the bypass should have two lanes or four lanes or instead have a flyover connecting the portions on either side of the Alappuzha Beach was also settled with the State government deciding to push for a two-lane model, he said.

Addressing a meeting convened at the District Collectorate here on Tuesday, the Minister expressed hope that the work would now progress smoothly since there was a “sea change” in the Centre’s attitude towards the State, particularly after the State Support Agreement was signed by Kerala.

Mr. Joseph said the forthcoming Cabinet meeting would discuss an exemption for PWD works regarding the prohibition on sand-mining and transport of the same. A meeting with the Kottayam District Collector and other authorities concerned, since sand for the bypass had to come from other districts, would be convened shortly, he said, adding that a team led by him would soon be proceeding to New Delhi to discuss the bypass issue with the Centre.

The bypass, for which land was acquired 30 years back, is from Kommadi on the north of Alappuzha town to Kalarkode on the south. Only the 3.73 km-long first phase of the 7.58 km two-lane bypass has been completed so far. The remaining 3.85km, including 1.1 km alongside the Alappuzha beach, has been lying in uncertainty for several years now.

PWD Secretary Tom Jose, K.S. Manoj, MP; K.C. Venugopal, MLA; District Collector V.K. Balakrishnan and others were present and accompanied the Minister when he visited the bypass work site.

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