Dispute delaying Panavila-Thampanoor work

Jisha Surya
First Published : 07 Jul 2010

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ongoing dispute between officials of the Road Fund Board and Kerala Water Authority (KWA) is hindering the works of some major roads under the City Road Improvement Project (CRIP).
Apart from the lack of co-ordination between these departments, a new villain has now entered the scene. Trenches excavated on roads for the JICA project is the latest bone of contention between the departments. The Road Fund Board alleges that roads excavated for the JICA-assisted water works are not properly refilled. “As per the JICA contract, only excavated earth is used to fill trenches. If the trenches are not filled with quarry muck or wet mix macadam (WMM), there is the possibility of sinking of land,” alleged an official with the Road Fund Board.
He added that the government must take a decision on refilling the trenches as it requires more technical specification and allocation of more funds.
When contacted, the KWA official responsible for the JICA works denied this. He said they were already using WMM to fill the trenches. However, the Road Fund Board official bluntly rejected this statement.
The Panavila-Thampanoor Road, which connects the Bakery Junction Flyover to Thampanoor bus stand, is in a totally dilapidated condition owing to JICA works. “The KWA and the PWD are yet to take a decision on this refilling issue. To make the Panavila-Thampanoor road available for traffic at the earliest, we have decided to use the area above the filled trenches on the sides of the road as pedestrian bay. Decisions on how to fill other trenches will be made later as it involves sanction of more funds,” Kerala Road Fund Board project engineer Sreekantan Nair said.
“As soon as the JICA completes its work, the PWD will begin its work,” he added.
The JICA officials are claiming that they would complete the work before July 31, provided there is no rain. The TRDCL, responsible for CRIP works, would take another two months for the completion of the road work. In short, the total road works would be completed only by October.
Two other issues at the Panavila-Thampanoor stretch, regarding land acquisition and shifting of a transformer at Aristo junction, come under the Revenue Department and KSEB.
The Revenue Department claims to have solved the issue. “Land owner Savy Mano Mathew had secured a stay order in favour of him, which delayed the works. Now, the final verdict has come out and that is in favour of the Revenue Department. A notification to acquire this land will come this week. The case regarding another piece of land owned by a hardware shop will be settled soon,” a Revenue official said.
The Bakery Junction Flyover, which was expected to ease the traffic congestion in the city, is still struggling to serve its purpose owing to all these issues.
jisha@expressbuzz.com