Decks have been cleared for the long overdue development of HMT Junction ailed by traffic congestion with the Kalamassery municipality identifying three sites for the relocation of ten roadside vendors whose presence was a major stumbling block to the project.
The sites have been identified along the road at Seapark, TVS Junction, and Carborandum Junction and will accommodate three, four and three vendors each in bunks to be set up by the municipality. “The vendors would be relocated within a month after the bunks are readied. The municipality will charge a nominal rent in consultation with the Revenue wing,” said Municipal Chairperson Jessy Peter.
A meeting convened by the Public Works Department Minister had given the vendors two months to relocate, the date for which expired on February 8. Following this, the DYFI launched a protest against the delay in junction development that was called off on Saturday following the decision to relocate the vendors to sites identified by the municipality, said HMT Junction division councillor A.A. Pareeth. Some of these vendors had been there for decades together and it was only fair that they were properly rehabilitated, he said.
Mr. Pareeth said that besides widening the junction, approval had also been sought from the railways to widen the overbridge at the junction by seven metres.
“It was high time that the junction was developed because of the presence of numerous educational institutions and also because of the rise in the number of passengers and vehicles passing through the area,” Mr. Pareeth said.
Apart from private schools and colleges near the junction, the Government Medical College, Ernakulam, and the National University of Advanced Legal Studies are also situated further down the HMT Road.
As the increasing traffic and public movement have congested the HMT Junction, the HMT Junction Development Action Council had come up with a proposal to develop the junction by setting up a bus bay, an autorickshaw stand, public amenities, and rehabilitating traders to ease traffic movement and address safety issues of the public.
The Action Council, in a memorandum to the Chief Minister, had suggested that a small portion of the land of the Government Polytechnic, Kalamassery, that makes a triangle shape at the junction between the NAD Road and the HMT Road be handed over to the Public Works Department to ease the traffic congestion of the main junction. It also suggests construction of walkways and parking spaces.
