Kochi: The long pending railway over bridge projects at Atlantis and Vathurthy in the city should be given speedy clearance to bring down the traffic congestion in the city. In a letter to Asha Thomas, managing director, Kerala Infrastructure Fund Board (KIFFB), Hibi Eden MLA said these two projects were crucial for decongesting city traffic. “Detailed project reports should be prepared for implementing the projects”, he said.
The letter pointed out that the previous UDF government had allocated Rs 48 cr for the Atlantis RoB and out of this, Rs 6 cr had been spent for the Ponnurunni and the remaining Rs 42 cr was used for land acquisition. The land has been taken over as per the JNURM project of the Kochi Corporation for a bridge with 22 metre width.
Eden pointed out that in the state budget of 2017-18, the government had earmarked Rs 50 cr for the project while Rs 30 cr was allocated for the Vathurthy RoB. Both projects are under the consideration of the KIFFB. The Indian Navy has given its clearance for the Vathuruthy RoB and the Cochin Port Trust has expressed its willingness to provide the land for the venture. Copies of the letter also were submitted to Kochi Mayor Soumini Jain, deputy mayor T.J. Vinod and P.M. Harris, chairman public works standing committee chairman, Kochi corporation and K.V. Thomas, MP from Ernakulam.
