Another controversy over under-construction skywalk in Kottayam

The long-delayed skywalk project in Kottayam town has courted another controversy with Kottayam legislator and Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan urging the State government to stop ‘discriminating’ against the project for political gains.

The move assumes significance in the wake of the stance by the Communist Party of India (Marxist)‘s [CPI(M)] local leadership which has sought to dismantle the elevated platform and its pillars.

“It has been seven years since the project began and if this government does not want to take it forward, it should explain the reasons. A total of ₹1.95 crore has already been spent on the project till now and 11 rounds of meetings have been held for restarting the work,’’ he said.

Asserting the need for resuming the work, he pointed out a study by the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) that showed that on an average 1.15 lakh vehicles and about 30,000 pedestrians use the junction every day. Cooperation Minister V.N. Vasavan, however, has sought to sidestep the issue, stating that it was for the Kerala Road Safety Authority to comment. As the matter is under the consideration of the Kerala High Court, the State government will register its opinion before the judiciary.

Subcontracting

He, however, launched a scathing attack on Kitco, which is establishing the skywalk. “The agency is only allotting subcontracts for the works entrusted to it and we have seen this in the case of the Thirunakkara ground and the Aymanom stadium as well. If you assign your works to some others, chances are high that it will affect the quality,’’ said the Minister, responding to a query by mediapersons.

The works on the ₹5.18-crore project began in February 2016. It, however, came to a halt within a few months after the installation of 14 metal pillars, besides relocation of the overhead electric cables and the underground pipelines. Though the Kottayam municipality handed over its land, the authorities have failed to acquire the remaining land from private parties.

At Seematti roundabout

The proposed skywalk, which is 45 m wide and stands on pillars of 6-m height above the Seematti roundabout, the busiest point in Kottayam. On completion, it is proposed to have two elevators, besides sophisticated kiosks and seats on it.

A petition seeking to dismantle the partially completed structure considering public safety is currently under consideration of the Kerala High Court. While the court has asked the State government to submit its opinion on this, Mr. Radhakrishnan too has joined the case as a party.