Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president V. Muraleedharan on Monday visited the site of the Railway Overbridge (ROB) at Pachalam and interacted with the protesters.
“The changes made in the ROB’s alignment by avoiding a property acquired for the purpose 33 years ago should bee seen as part of a conspiracy involving the State government. The BJP is committed to support the cause of those 450 families who are now facing eviction due to this superfluous shift,” he said.
According to Mr. Muraleedharan, the original plan of the Pachalam ROB, as proposed by the KITCO, will pave way to the comprehensive development of the entire Kochi city. “Instead, the authorities concerned have opted for a very strange plan, under which a 7.5-metre wide bridge will be joined to a 3.5-metre wide road, which will only result in severe traffic congestion in the area,” he pointed out. During the visit, he also interacted with officials of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation – the agency executing the project.
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After a halt for nearly two months, the State government recently resumed the construction works of the bridge shelving the earlier proposals for a wider bridge in the region. The authorities cite financial constraints of the government as the reason behind the decision to go for a smaller bridge.
Meanwhile, DMRC officials said the visit of the BJP State president did not affect the bridge work. “The work will not be disrupted as long as there is police protection and we are currently focusing on completing the work on the western end. Works on the other end will be taken up only after completing acquisition of land required for the project,” they said.