Local residents have threatened to intensify protests against the construction of a flyover at Mankombu in Kuttanad as part of upgrading the Alappuzha-Changanassery (AC) road as a semi-elevated highway.
The construction of the flyover has been stalled following protests. Protesters last week blocked the piling work. They put forth demands, including increasing the width of the proposed service road from 3.5 metres to 6 metres and the height of the flyover.
A meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday failed to bring an end to the impasse. Kuttanad MLA Thomas K. Thomas, meanwhile, has written to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Public Works Minister P. A. Mohamed Riyas to consider scrapping flyover at Mankombu or else construct a flyover from Thekkekara to Onnamkara.
Santhosh Shanthi, convener, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, Kuttanad Union, said the organisation would launch 'day-and-night' protests if their demands were not met. The Yogam authorities said a lack of sufficient width of the service road and height of the flyover would affect the functioning of the SNDP Yogam building, which houses the union office and a shop, along with other commercial establishments in the area.
According to them, as per the current plan, the clearance of the flyover in some places is below 2 metres. Likewise, the width of the service road is fixed at 3.5 metres. The residents also questioned the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP) decision not to construct a flyover east of Pallikoottumma where flooding was more frequent.
The 24.14-km AC road, connecting Alappuzha and Kottayam districts, is being reconstructed at a cost of around ₹650 crore.
The project, aimed at preventing flooding of the road during the monsoon season, is expected to be completed in 2023. Reconstruction and widening of existing bridges and construction of flyovers at places prone to severe flooding are part of the project. Once completed, the two-lane road and flyovers with footpaths will have a width between 13-14 meters.
