A road must be built beneath the S.N. Junction-Thripunithura metro rail viaduct, simultaneous with work on the viaduct, Hibi Eden, MP, has said.
He was speaking after inaugurating a hunger strike by members of Thripunithura Rajanagari Union of Residents’ Associations (TRURA) at East Fort Junction on Friday, deploring the “inordinate delay” on the part of the Kochi metro and civic agencies in finalising road connectivity to the proposed metro terminal near the Thripunithura railway station. “The availability of other modes of transport is a must near metro stations. I will submit a memorandum to KMRL in this regard,” Mr. Eden said.
Speaking at the valedictory of the agitation, Thripunithura MLA M. Swaraj said he would take up with Finance Minister Thomas Isaac or, if need be, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan the necessity of a proper road connectivity to the metro terminal. Thripunithura Municipal Chairperson Rema Santosh said she would strive to ready a new bus terminal proposed in the vicinity at the earliest.
Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) had said it was premature to comment on establishing road connectivity to the metro’s terminal station at Thripunithura.
“In such a scenario, commuters from Thripunithura, towns in Kochi’s eastern suburbs, Kottayam, and Idukki will have to enter the station through the narrow entry to the Thripunithura railway station,” said V.P. Prasad, chairman, TRURA.
Inadequate road connectivity, that also to a terminal station of the metro, will lead to chaos and congestion. It will further hamper buses from entering the station premises, affecting last-mile connectivity and integration of the metro with buses and other modes of public transport, said V.C. Jayendran, convenor, TRURA.
For the record, KMRL had laid survey stones on the stretch in the third quarter of the year.
