The district road safety committee recently approved the Coimbatore-Pollachi bypass road project, which will be developed at ₹62 crore.
The 23.7 km road from Kovilpalayam to Coimbatore, through Chettipalayam, will involve acquisition of 25 acres. It is expected to bring down traffic on the existing road.
However, the project is opposed by farmers. “I will lose my land. We have repeatedly appealed to the officials concerned to modify the alignment. But, they are not willing to do so. The proposed alignment passes through several farms,” said Nataraj of Kondampatti village.
K. Kathirmathiyon, secretary of Coimbatore Consumer Cause, said the Coimbatore-Pollachi highways road has been widened. The proposed alignment for the bypass is through small villages and is an unnecessary project.
The Highways Department should re-think this project. There are several other road projects that are needed for Coimbatore. These should be taken up. If there can be a bypass road for Pollachi, there can be bypass roads for Mettupalayam and Tiruppur too. This seems to be an unwanted expenditure and the Department should drop this project, Mr. Kathirmathiyon said.
