Over two months since it put up traffic direction and diversion boards on NH Bypass and other roads, Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) is yet to begin work in right earnest to clear traffic bottlenecks on alternative roads identified to divert vehicles from Civil Line Road and other corridors, where piling is set to begin for the metro’s 11.20-km Kakkanad extension.
The bottlenecks that abound on roads that take off from NH Bypass and end at Seaport-Airport Road include encroachments, posts of KSEB and private telecom service providers that ought to be relocated to the side, and slabs that are either missing over drains or were laid higher than the road surface.
Rajappan, Vennala regional secretary of Ernakulam District Residents’ Associations’ Apex Council (EDRAAC), said precious little had been done to clear encroachments and bottlenecks on Puthiya Road, Chakkaraparambu Road, and innumerable other corridors that take off from NH Bypass, which would be used to divert light vehicles from Civil Line Road that would be barricaded (at eight-metre width) to build the Kochi metro viaduct.
