Only 720 metres of the 3.8-km-long Thammanam-Pullepady Road has been widened, over three decades since the Kochi Corporation decided to develop the road.
The fear is now rife that vehicles cannot be diverted through the narrow and ill-maintained road when work begins on the Vyttila flyover later this year and when the metro rail viaduct is constructed across the junction. This will stifle movement of vehicles in the city in the east-west direction.
Speaking about the proposal that was mooted 40 years ago to widen Thammanam-Pullepady Road, P.T. Thomas, MLA, who represents Thrikkakkara Assembly constituency through which a major portion of the road passes, has expressed shock at the delay in developing the road.
“The State PWD must take over the narrow, potholed road at the earliest and widen it into a four-lane stretch. The Department must also extend the road to Padma Junction on M.G. Road and to Kalamassery through Infopark, since the Kochi Corporation does not have the funds to widen and develop the crucial road. For this, the road must be extended eastward from Thammanam to NH Bypass and linked with Airport-Seaport Road through Vennala,” he said.
Expressing concern over ₹25 crore handed over to the district administration during the United Democratic Front (UDF) tenure to develop Karanakodam-Kathrikadavu stretch lying idle, Mr. Thomas sought steps to make optimal use of another ₹100 crore earmarked in the State budget from KIIFB funds.
“No steps have been taken to acquire land and develop the 645-metre-long M.G. Road-Chitoor Road-C.P. Ummer Road stretch, for which approximately ₹65 crore is required. Another ₹40 crore is needed for the 620-metre-long Perandoor-Kathrikadavu reach, ₹1.5 crore for the 720-metre-long Kathrikadavu-Karakanodam stretch and ₹125 crore for the 1,300-metre-long Karanakodam-Thammanam Junction-NH Bypass stretch. A total of over ₹230 crore is required to develop the M.G. Road-NH Bypass corridor alone,” he said.
Mr. Thomas took the initiative in convening two rounds of meetings, attended by Hibi Eden, MLA, and Mayor Soumini Jain, to hasten the road’s development.
He regretted that Thrikkakara municipality did not pass a resolution to hand over the land to PWD and sought a meeting convened by Minister for Public Works G. Sudhakaran. “The Kerala State Construction Corporation (KSCC) has readied an estimate and design for extending the road from NH Bypass (Chakkaraparambu) to Airport-Seaport Road.”
The MLA has sought urgent measures to repair potholes on the road and raise road shoulders before Kochi hosts the FIFA under-17 football matches in October.
Land acquisition
Only 60% of land needed has been acquired or given as free surrender to the Kochi Corporation, said K.S. Dileep Kumar, an office bearer of the Thammanam-Pullepady Road Samrakshana Samithi, which is spearheading agitations demanding the widening of the corridor.
“The bell mouth of Kathrikadavu Junction was widened and encroachers were removed after four councillors staged a dharna. The PWD has not taken over Thammanam-Pulleady stretch though the Kochi Corporation passed a resolution. After widening the Karanakodam-Kathrikadavu stretch on a war footing, the narrow Kathrikadavu-Pullepady bridge stretch must be widened,” said Mr. Dileep Kumar and warned of further agitations if there was any more delay.
