Officials of the Kochi Metro Rail Limited, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Revenue Department and National Highways Authority of India carried out a joint inspection of the proposed stations and parking lots along the Kochi metro rail’s alignment on Saturday.
They inspected the premises of 15 of the 23 stations proposed between Aluva and Madhava Pharmacy Junction. The Aluva-Edappally stretch of NH 47, where a few narrow portions will have to be widened, was also inspected. The aim was to assess the area of land required for each station and adjacent parking lots. The metro’s detailed project report estimates that 26 hectares of land is required for the stations and the huge parking lots envisaged at the Aluva and Tripunithura Pettah metro stations.
The KMRL has proposed parking lots at all the stations to enable commuters to park their vehicles. The team that inspected the station sites included the KMRL’s MD Elias George, the DMRC’s Kochi Project Director P. Sriram and District Collector P.I. Sheikh Pareeth.
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A KMRL spokesperson said stakeholders would hold a meeting after inspecting the premises of the eight stations proposed between Madhava Pharmacy Junction and Pettah. The extent of land required for the stations would be finalised after the meeting.
Officials of the NHAI on Friday held discussions with their KMRL counterparts, on how to ensure smooth flow of vehicles when work on the metro’s pillars is on.
In the coming week, Mr. Elias is expected to hold discussions with senior NHAI officials in New Delhi and submit a proposal on widening the NH. An MoU too is expected to be signed for this purpose.
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