The recommendations of the Regional Transport Office to set up a multi-modal transport hub between the Malapparamba and Thondayad junctions will shortly be submitted to the State government to get the required fund and other technical support.
The recommendations, now with an engineers’ panel from the National Institute of Technology-Calicut (NIT-C) for final scrutiny, will be submitted in the form of a formal study report from the Kozhikode district administration. M.V.L.R. Anjaneyulu, professor specialised in Transportation Engineering, will head the study and prepare the final project report.
The district-level Road Safety Committee, comprising the District Collector and the City Police Commissioner, has already approved the project which is expected to address the rising concerns over the shrinking parking space in the city. On completion, the hub will have six transport terminals, mono rail connectivity, cycle and two-wheeler bays, and helipad, besides disaster management facilities.
As per the recommendation, the project will be a boon for the fast-growing city as it will facilitate parking of over 3,000 cars, 2,000 motorcycles, 200 buses and 200 contract carriages. The parking space will be divided in such a way to get exclusive space for bus operators to conduct long distance, city and rural services. The buses now being operated by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation too will be allotted separate space.
According to Regional Transport Officer Rajiv Puthalath, the transport hub, if implemented in the proposed way, will provide a lot of modern amenities for the travellers. Five-star accommodation facilities, standard food courts, cloakrooms, cinema theatres, comfort stations, petrol pumps and ATM counters are part of the mega venture, he points out.
The hub to be constructed as an intersection point of highways will have easy access to NH 212 and 213. For travellers, there will be Skywalk facility connecting the six transport terminals.
With the opening of the transport hub, the Palayam bus stand can be converted as a multi-level parking centre as per the proposal. It also suggests making use of the existing Mofussil bus stand for the operation of short-distance buses.
