Kochi: Delayed for a couple of years, the Kochi Corporation has finally approved the request for road cutting by Indian Oil Adani Gas Company Private Limited for the city gas last week.
The company will soon begin works within the corporation limits, cutting roads using an open trenching method which will entirely damage them.
The corporation was reluctant to clear the request for road cutting citing lower road restoration rates. Now, the civic body permitted road cutting as per the revised charges fixed by the public works department.
The PWD chief engineer on May 22 issued the order fixing the restoration charge for BMBC (bitumen concrete and bitumen macadam) roads at Rs 5,396 for metre square and Rs 4,680 for 20mm chipping carpet road. Several roads in Vyttila and central zones have to be cut at a width of 1.5 metres and six feet depth.
A recent meeting of the corporation council approved the oil company’s request based on certain conditions.
Roads should not be trenched simultaneously, and the company should prepare the traffic deviation plan and schedule of work which has to be submitted to the civic officials and councillors concerned.
The company has also warned against keeping huge pipes along roadside creating traffic block. While trenching, the existing utility cables should not be damaged. It has also been stipulated that road restoration has to be done at the earliest.
Meanwhile, few councillors have urged a change in alignment citing the recent upgrading of roads in their division.
