Protest is brewing against the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) for not fast-tracking the acquisition of half-a-dozen largely vacant plots to hew out Chilavannur Bund Road, which will throw open a new corridor parallel to SA Road.
Most parts of the road that links Thykoodam located 1.5 km south of Vyttila and Thevara have two-lane width, where to-and-fro movement of vehicles is possible. The single-biggest obstacle to establishing a link to Thykoodam on the NH Bypass has been the GCDA’s “failure” during the past two decades to acquire land spread over a 300-metre distance at Thykoodam.
A public interest litigation filed earlier this year by social activist Francis Manjooran citing the inordinate delay in clearing the bottleneck saw the High Court of Kerala issue notice to the GCDA, State government, and the District Collector. Apart from acquiring land on the 300-metre stretch, the GCDA will have to coordinate with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to lay slabs over a drain on the western side of Thykoodam overbridge to construct a service road that is wide enough to accommodate two-lane traffic. “The delay in land acquisition has resulted in even the V.R. Krishna Iyer Road that links KP Vallon Road with Panampilly Nagar lying underutilised. The GCDA must take proactive steps to open up the road,” said Alfred K. Paul, who resides in the vicinity of Bund Road.
Moreover, the two-lane road narrows down to single lane on the eastern side of the walkway that has been developed on the banks of the Chilavannur backwaters.
“Motorists to the city and back are often caught in snarls at Vyttila. This can be avoided if bottlenecks on the road are cleared and plots acquired on the 300-metre-wide portion. Byroads like the one leading southward of the dead-end where the two-lane road ends at Thykoodam can be developed to throw open a road parallel to the NH Bypass,” said Binu P.P., who owns a goods-carrier autorickshaw.
On the delay in developing Chilavannur Bund Road, GCDA Chairman V. Salim said landowners were seeking huge amounts as compensation in keeping with the new Land Acquisition Act. “We need special sanction from the State government for this. Steps will be taken post the Lok Sabha polls to at least partially clear the bottlenecks, if not fully. Bellmouths of narrow junctions too have to be widened to ensure to-and-fro traffic,” he added.