Cochin Port Trust has assured that it will provide the land required for the proposed railway overbridge at Vathuruthy. The chairman of the Port Trust, P. Raveendran, said this at a meeting on Sunday, said a press release here. The ROB will be a major relief for commuters to and from West Kochi, which is facing severe traffic congestion during peak hours.
Officials from Roads and Bridges Development Corporation, Cochin Port Trust, and the Navy are jointly expected to finalise the alignment of the bridge within ten days. The Port Trust has said that if land is needed for the project, it will come forward to provide the land.
The Port Trust had earlier said that it supported the proposed railway overbridge at Vathuruthy but that it had not received any precise request for allotment of land for the project. The Port Trust, sources said, was the custodian of the Union government land, and a formal request for land for a public cause would be processed as per the land management rules.
The Port Trust had provided land for public projects. The recent projects include the Kannangatt-Willingdon Island Road, which is yet to be commissioned. Though the approach road on the West Kochi side is still to be finalised, the land for the project on Willingdon Island has already been handed over and the works are near complete.
K.V. Thomas, MP, will request the Railways to include the Vathuruthy rail overbridge in the list of priority projects. K.J. Maxy, MLA, has earmarked ₹20 crore from the MLA fund for the project.