Free left at Kaloor Junction remains on paper

KOCHI: The widening and development of Palarivattom, Vyttila and Kundannoor junctions in the city are inching towards the final lap. However, Kaloor Junction which was once proclaimed as the face of the city remains in a neglected state. Lack of planning by the civic authority and the government has made the junction a nightmare for commuters.

With KMRL starting the construction of a boundary wall along the road, which restricted a free left to the Elamakkara road from Kaloor, it has become clear that the corporation, KMRL and district administration have completely ignored the development of the junction.“KMRL has occupied an ample area of the road at Kaloor junction without any extra cost, creating more traffic congestion by constructing the metro station on the space used as a bus bay earlier. Whereas, the plot they bought vacating Confurn Furniture Showroom and other small shops in the junction is left vacant for the parking area even without leaving space for a bell mouth for easy passage of vehicles,” said Vinaya Chandran, an employee of a private organisation. 

He said KMRL’s attempt to construct a boundary will create a bottleneck at the junction. “It may even obstruct the vision of drivers crisscrossing the junction and may lead to accidents. It requires utmost, immediate and kind intervention to compel KMRL to leave space for an ample bell mouth at Kaloor Junction towards Perandoor Road,” he added. “Taking a free left from the junction is a Herculean task. Nobody is concerned about the free left. The authorities are not even bothered about it and can be seen engaged in manually maintaining traffic.

The autorickshaw stands on the side of the road are also causing concern. Metro alone can’t make a difference to the city. If the city needs to develop, it should be planned properly,” said a retired government employee living near Kaloor.Though the corporation has decided to improve junctions in the city, the decision remains on paper. “So far no proposal has come from the town planning committee to improve the facilities at the junction,” said M G Aristotle, councillor, Kaloor South.

KMRL’s version
“Expansion of junctions is not under our plan now. We are constructing a boundary wall for KMRL’s property. There is no controversy regarding that,” said a KMRL spokesperson.