No extension for Alappuzha bypass: G Sudhakaran

ALAPPUZHA: Minister for public works G Sudhakaran said that no further extension will be given to finish works on the Alappuzha bypass project. He was inaugurating a newly constructed first floor of the District Homeo Hospital here on Friday. “The construction firm had sought an extension till September. We have given them time till August 31 to complete the project. If they fail, the government will blacklist them,” he said.

The minister said that service roads will be built on both sides of the bypass. “Service roads are part of construction of any bypass project. However, in the case of Alappuzha no fund has been earmarked for constructing service roads. We will construct service roads on both sides even if it needs fund allocation from the state government,” he said. Mr Sudhakaran also blamed the Indian Railways for the delay in completion of the project.

The bypass work, which got under way on April 10, 2015, was originally set to be completed in September, 2017. However, the project got delayed on account of various reasons and the deadline was initially extended to May 28, 2018. Officials said that only about 85 per cent of the project was completed so far. The pending work includes construction of two rail overbridges (ROBs) at Malikamukku and Kuthirapanthy. Meanwhile a team of officials led by District Collector S. Suhas visited various places along the bypass and reviewed the progress of the project.