The commissioning of the Rs.55.93-crore bus terminal complex of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) at Thampanoor, may be delayed as the construction work has been stopped since August 4 following the caving in of the partially concreted fourth floor in one of the blocks of the complex.
The complex was scheduled for commissioning in June 2012. The work had been stalled after the Labour Department issued a stop memo following the incident in which a mason, Rafi of Kollam, died.
Official sources said the work that resumed in the other blocks of the proposed complex on August 5 was suspended after the notice was served.
A report of the inquiry, ordered by the government, by a team headed by the District Collector and an internal inquiry by the Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation (KTDFC) are yet to be made public.
Migrant workers
The construction firm executing the work had employed migrant labourers and many of them had gone back to their native places.
The work could be resumed only on the approval of the Labour Department.
“Even if the clearance is granted by the department, it will take a minimum of one month for the firm to mobilise men and machinery and resume the work,” the sources said.
Seven floors on the third block and four floors on the middle block had been completed. The structure of the complex was slated for completion by December and the modern complex by June 2012.
“It is now certain that the work will not be completed on schedule. Valuable time is lost and commuters coming from all parts of the State and getting down at Thampanoor are suffering due to the stalling of the work,” he said.
The authorities are now looking forward to a meeting to be convened by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
The 10-storey complex having a floor area of around 30,000 sq m is coming up on the southern side of the KSRTC premises facing Ponnara Sreedhar Park.
Being implemented on the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) concept, the project is a joint venture of the Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation (KTDFC) and the KSRTC.
