KOTTAYAM: The construction of the Kottayam Development Corridor, which was suspended due to flood in June, has not resumed even after the rain stopped in August this year as authorities blame monsoon.
The work at Manippuzha-Erayilkadavu Road has been suspended at the land-filling phase and the Erayilkiadavu Bridge at the piling stage. Remaining area of the road needs to be filled with gravel before the next phase of tarring.
In March, Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, while inaugurating the construction work said the road will be completed within three months.
"Orders were given to complete the road by May," said Mr Radhakrishnan, "But early monsoon and unavailability of gravel had prolonged the work."
"The work will resume soon and the cost won't overrun. Once the work begins, the road will be completed within three months as told earlier. The bridge may need six more months as 18 months is the total time span," he added.
The Rs 20.75-crore bypass involves the construction of 2-km-long, 40-metre-wide ring road from Manippuzha to Erayilkadavu. This also includes an approach road and the Erayilkadavu Bridge across Kodoor River at an outlay of 5.9 crore.
The Corridor allows motorists to bypass this town from MC Road at Manippuzha through Erayilkadavu and join KK Road at Manorama Junction, therby mitigating the traffic woes.
Since the stretch from Kodimatha to Central Junction falls under NH 220, the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP) has found this alternate route to connect MC Road and KK Road without entering the town limits.
However, the only person who is relieved by the delay in construction is Salim (uses only one name) who ferries people across the river. "Once the road and the bridge come," he said, "I will lose my income."
