Thiruvananthapuram: With the Southwest monsoon receding, the State Public Works Department has awarded tenders to various contractors to complete the maintenance work on the National Highway. PWD Minister V. K.Ebrahim Kunju said while Rs 15 lakh had been awarded for NH road maintenance, another Rs 5 cr per district amounting to a total Rs 70 cr had been earmarked for the State PWD roads.
Work has already started on the NH 47 stretch especially in Kollam and Alappuzha districts. Though PWD officials were keen to finish the maintenance work before the festive season, the Southwest monsoon played spoilsport.
A senior PWD official said the major difficulty they faced today was the dearth of labourers. But with the rains receding, the officials are upbeat about finishing the maintenance in record time. “Most of the works involve filling the potholes that opened up due to the incessant rains in the State.
Maintenance work on PWD roads in Ernakulam, Kottayam, Kozhikode and Kannur districts started on Wednesday. Some of the stretches in Ernakulam as well as on MC road will be repaired at night as these are areas which need full maintenance. Besides, work will be done in such a way that traffic does not get disrupted”, said a senior PWD official.
Though most of the work being done now is to fill the potholes, the major work will follow soon. PWD officials said only Thiruvananthapuram district had undergone major repair works before the holiday season started. Executive engineers across the 14 districts are monitoring the work in a bid to finish it off in record time.
Meanwhile, the revised toll charges will come into effect on Wednesday on the Mannuthy-Edapally stretch of National Highway 47.
As per the revised tariff, heavy vehicles including multi-axle vehicles have to pay more to get through the toll plaza when compared to light commercial and goods carriers.
The fee for light goods vehicles was Rs 110 per single trip and Rs 165 for the return trip (within 24 hours). This has been hiked to Rs 115 and Rs 175, respectively.
For buses and trucks, the present fee is Rs 220 per trip and Rs 330 for the return trip, which has now been increased to Rs 235 and Rs 350, respectively.
Similarly, for multi axle vehicles (three to six axles), the fees for single and double trips, have been hiked to Rs 375 and Rs 565 from the previous rates of Rs 355 and Rs 530, respectively.
Cars, jeeps and vans will have to pay Rs 65 and Rs 100, for a single trip and return trip, respectively. The rate of monthly pass for all categories of vehicles has also been increased proportionately.
