KOZHIKODE: The district administration is yet to clear the land acquisition procedures for the service roads beneath the Panniyankara railway overbridge being built by the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation for the light metro project. This has resulted in huge traffic snarls in the region. Moreover, the 200-metre stretch is riddled with potholes slowing down vehicular movement.
The traffic blocks will end only when the bridge is opened, say engineers. But the DMRC authorities have not even started the electrification works of the bridge which was supposed to be opened by June this year. Mr Venu Gopal, an engineer concerned, said that the construction of the service roads was delayed due to land acquisition hassles. The total amount sanctioned for the overbridge is Rs 50.16 crore and that for land acquisition Rs 26 crore.
"Since the work of the bridge is underway, there is no point in repairing the road beneath it," said Mr N. Rameshan, a city resident. "We have been demanding the completion of the project as soon as possible," he added. The bridge work that started in 2014 is stretched over to the two sides of National Highway. The 800-metre-long overbridge was designed across the National Highway and 300 metres across the railway track at Payyanakkal. According to the district administration officials, the land acquisition delay is due to technical issues which will be rectified soon.
