With neither Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) nor Thripunithura municipality taking steps to extend the road beneath the Kochi metro’s SN Junction-Thripunithura Terminal station viaduct up to Hill Palace Road, commuters and residents’ associations have sought steps to fast-track the long-pending project of the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) to widen the 13.40-km-long PWD-owned SN Junction-Poothotta stretch that runs parallel to it, into a 22-metre-wide four-lane road.They have also sought the speedy commencement of the Public Works department (PWD) project to widen the bottlenecked portions of Kaniampuzha Road in order to further augment east-west connectivity to Kochi city and back.The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) had in 2020 sanctioned ₹450 crore to acquire 12 hectares to widen the SN Junction-Poothotta corridor and to straighten curves. Following this, an 18-month deadline was set in early 2021 to widen the corridor.Decrying the ‘stalemate’ in developing the two roads, V.C. Jayendran, convenor of Thripunithura Rajanagari Union of Residents Associations (TRURA), drew parallels with the non-completion of the ₹30-crore project to rebuild the dilapidated Iron Bridge and the ₹26-crore project to rejuvenate the 17-km Konothupuzha river that passed through Thripunithura municipality and half a dozen adjacent panchayats. These projects are at a standstill for years despite getting administrative sanction, he said, adding that representatives of member associations had expressed concern at this, at TRURA’s annual general body meeting.The PWD had promised a decade ago that steps would be taken to clear encroachments and other bottlenecks on Kaniampuzha Road and the Vyttila-Kunnara Park stretch of Vyttila-Pettah Road, and to widen them, shortly after the first phase of the Vyttila Mobility Hub was commissioned and the subsequent worsening of traffic snarls in and around Vyttila. These projects too are in cold storage, said T.N. Pratapan, secretary of Vyttila Vikasana Samithi and a regular bus commuter. Published – September 10, 2024 01:37 am IST