Work on Mukkola-Karode NH-66 bypass to begin in two days: NHAI

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The work on the 16.3km Mukkola-Karode NH-66 bypass is set to resume this week as L&T Constructions, the contractor, has obtained a stay order from the High Court for the stop memo issued on the project by the Geology and Mining Department. The memo was issued stating that the contractor excavated soil from an area under the buffer zone to carry out the construction work.

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials said the work would begin in two days, and as decided earlier, the entire stretch will be ready for commissioning by the end of January.

The geology department issued the stop memo by November end against the remaining work at Thangavila. The department alleged the contractor excavated soil from an area under the buffer zone instead of using the allocated land for the purpose in Perumkadavila panchayat near Neyyattinkara. The work hit a roadblock at a time when 98% of the construction was over.

However, the contractor secured a favourable verdict from the High Court on Friday. The court has asked the geology department and the Perumkadavila panchayat to issue a transit pass to the petitioner for quarrying and transporting ordinary earth from the permissible area to the work site.

“Since our two-week work schedule is affected, we will try our best to complete the remaining work in the stipulated time frame. We expect to open the highway in January,” said P Pradeep, project director.

Currently, the work is pending in three locations: Thengavila, Thirupuram, and Vlathankara. Once completed, the stretch will be the first concrete-laid highway in the state. Though the work began in 2016, the NHAI had to push the deadline multiple times owing to several hurdles.

Though the work on the Tamil Nadu side of the NH will not be completed soon due to land acquisition issues, traffic from Mukkola to Karode will be opened once the stretch is completed.

Karode-Kanyakumari   stretch: Tender called  
The NHAI has invited a new tender for the remaining work on the Karode-Kanyakumari stretch in Tamil Nadu. The work is expected to start by April.