Flouting of rules to lay cables and pipes by various utility service providers and illegal sewerage connections to the storm water drain has come to light on the newly developed three road corridors under the much-lauded Thiruvananthapuram City Road Improvement Project (TCRIP).
The illegal laying of cables and pipes was detected on the 300-metre stretch on Corridor V, from Old Collectorate, Pattoor, Upidamoodu to Srekanteswaram, and Corridor VI, from Nalumukku, Sreekanteswaram, Mele Pazhavangadi to Choorakkatu Palayam when the roads were handed over to Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Limited (TRDCL) for the restoration works.
The TRDCL, the concessionaire of the TCRIP, and the Kerala Road Fund Board had given permission to Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) in 2015 to lay the drinking water line from Observatory to the coastal villages after the approach road to the Mele Pazhavangady flyover was completed.
The TRDCL officials, who inspected the corridor to commence the restoration works last month, found that JICA had laid a 90-cm drinking water pipe at a shallow depth. Instead of laying it 2.1 metre below the road surface as per the standard and approved procedures for laying the utilities, sources in TRDCL said the pipeline was laid at a depth of 65 cm in some places.
The TRDCL and KRFB authorities found that cables of KSEB, BSNL, Airtel and Reliance JIO were laid on the dug-up stretch where permission was given only to JICA to lay drinking water pipes. The cables of these utility providers lay 30 cm below the road surface and no permission had been sought in the last three years, sources said.
On the 300-metre stretch, the newly constructed 27 manholes by JICA pose a safety risk to road users as they project 30 cm above the road surface. The chances of motorists getting involved in accidents are on the higher side.
The TRDCL has taken up the issue with the KRFB and the utility service providers. The KSEB has informed that their cables were lying underneath and were not newly laid.
“As the lowering of the cables, pipes and manholes will take time, we have decided to go ahead with the restoration work and to open the stretch to motorists. “The cables and pipes are a risk as we cannot properly compact the dug-up stretch before giving the black topping”, Project Director, TRDCL, Anil Kumar Pandala told The Hindu on Sunday.
Meanwhile, a joint inspection by the TRDCL and the City Corporation led by Sasthamangalam ward councillor Bindhu Sreekumar found four illegal connections of sewerage and kitchen waste to the stormwater drain on the Vellayambalam-Sasthamangalam corridor.
The City Corporation has informed the TRDCL that stern action would be taken against those involved and notices would be served on them. “Hefty fine will be imposed for digging the road. The civic body has asked us to plug the connections,” he added.
