To revive pending work on the Sarovaram project that had run into a controversy in 2019, the Kochi Corporation has made an online presentation before the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority (KCZMA).
The project envisages the construction of an elevated walkway-cum-cycle track over Chilavannoor lake, to link the Kochi metro’s Elamkulam station with the corridor that links Subhash Bose Road with Jawahar Nagar. The authority had declined to sanction the project. Subsequently, the corporation submitted a letter, requesting it to reconsider the decision.
Critics, including socio-political and environmental activists, had termed the project as a ploy to reclaim around 10 acres on the western side of the waterbody. They further alleged that it would worsen flooding in the region. They also warned of intensifying their agitation, if the corporation went ahead with its plans.
Sources associated with the project said the temporary bund constructed through the centre of the backwaters would be demolished in a phased manner as soon as piling for the walkway-cum-cycle track was over. But detractors wondered why the structure was being built through the centre, when it could have been constructed through the eastern or western end of the waterbody, along the banks, after clearing encroachments.
