Kochi: With the FIFA Under-17 World Cup round the corner, the roads in the city will be repaired on a war-footing according them top priority and there would not be a single one left with potholes after September 30, PWD Minister G. Sudhakaran said on Friday. He was inaugurating the 620-metre Kannenghat-Willingdon Island bridge which will lessen the distance between Aroor and Willingdon Island by eight kms. “A direction has been issued to the Public Works Department (PWD) to complete the repair of city roads at the earliest. Hence instead of the usual tender proceedings that last upto 20 days, they are allowed to award the works using quotations with a period of just three days. The government has already given Rs six crore for repair of roads in three constituencies of the district and will allot more if the need arises,” the minister said.
The minister lauded the PWD officials for completing the construction of the gallery at the Maharajas College Ground ahead of the gala sport event. Kochi will be hosting six qualifying matches, one pre-quarterfinal and one quarterfinal game of the tournament to be held from October 6 to 28. Meanwhile, he accused the railways of continuing to neglect the demands of the state. “Even when a report was given citing track issues at 600 places, it failed to take any initiatives. But he thanked the Central government for allotting the services of the army, immediately upon seeking its services to construct the temporary Bailey’s bridge at Enath along MC Road.
Kannanghat-Willingdon Island Bridge thrown open
The 600-metre-long Kannanghat-Willingdon Island Bridge, which will lessen the distance between Aroor and Kochi city by nearly eight kms, was finally launched by PWD Minister G Sudhakaran on Friday. However, heavy vehicles traffic will take more time as a part of the approach road is yet to be completed. “Now smaller vehicles like cars have started plying, however, without completion of the approach road construction, the bigger vehicles cannot ply. The tender for the work has already been awarded and would start once the rains subside,” said Shakritha Suresh Babu, Island South Councillor.
“The related works of the bridge should be completed at the earliest. John Fernandes, MLA, has agreed to meet the expense from his MLA fund. Otherwise the real purpose of the bridge would not be served,” said Trippunithura MLA M. Swaraj. The construction of the Rs 60.40 crore bridge began in October 2014 and was scheduled to be completed in 20 months. However, it missed several target dates due to various reasons. Earlier, minister Sudhakaran observed that the officials of the PWD department were not professional enough and that had delayed many crucial projects. “The government will take stern action against faulty officials though it has been generally lenient while dealing with government officials,” he said.
