It was a day of celebration for the coastal villages of Chakkumkadavu, Kothi, Naninamvalappu, Mukhadar, and Pallikkandy here on Monday. Their long wait for an approach road to the Kothi bridge, which was built over 17 years ago, came to an end with Minister for Public Works V.K. Ebrahim Kunju opening it for the public.
The Minister, along with the local MLA and Minister for Panchayats and Social Justice M.K. Muneer and Mayor A.K. Premajam, were taken to the inaugural venue in an open vehicle by the organisers while a large, festive crowd accompanied them on foot along the newly built coastal road from Mukhadar to Nainamvalappu, where the stage was built for the function.
Mr. Ebrahim Kunju said that the work on six select roads in the city to be improved to international standards would begin in five months. “And it will be completed in a year,” he said. The contract for the Rs.699-crore project had been given to the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative (ULCC) Society.
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The Minister said that the foundation stone for the proposed road overbridges at Thondayad Junction and Ramanattukara would be laid before the term of the present government ended.
Dr. Muneer, who presided over the function, said that a special employment scheme of Rs.1.5 crore would be introduced for those who had been affected by the bridge project. “Those who are yet to receive the rehabilitation package will also receive it within a month,” the Minister said.
Ms. Premajam, M.K. Raghavan, MP, and Calicut Development Authority chairman N.C. Aboobacker, among others, spoke.
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