KOZHIKODE: A meeting of Malabar Devaswom Board representatives and Municipality authorities, convened by local MLA K. Dasan decided to set up a township in Kollam to decongest traffic in Kollam and Koyilandy. The township plan was reached after a consensus on the development of Pisharikavu temple also, which comes under the Board. After the Ramanattukara-Vengalam bypass along NH 66, traffic congestion has eased in Koyilandy town and adjacent Kollam.
But if the road towards Meppayur from Kollam is blocked by the railway crossing, long queues of vehicles reach the NH too and that affects the entire traffic on the Kozhikode-Kannur stretch. “The township is expected to ease the traffic as well as prospects of development of the region,” said K. Dasan MLA. Uralungal The Labour Cooperative Society was asked to prepare the draft of the township plan.
Along with the project, the renovation of Kollam Chira will be taken up with financial assistance of Rs 3.5 crores from Nabard. The beautification work of the Chira would be funded by the Board, said its president Sajeev Maroli, who took part in the meeting.
“The pond near the entrance of the temple would be renovated along the lines of Mananchira. Similarly all the small roads surrounding the temple would get a facelift,” he said. A flyover connecting the Pisharikavu temple with the Nellyadi road and Muchukunnu road is another highlight of the masterplan. If the flyover becomes a reality, the rail crossing will be a thing of the past. The funds for the flyover construction will be set aside in the coming budget, according to the MLA. Koyilandy Municipality Commissioner Adv K. Sathyan, Devaswom Commissioner P. Murali, Moodady gram panchayat president Sheeja Patteri, representatives of Pisharikavu temple among others took part in the meeting.
