Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Delay in shifting utility lines holds up road widening work

Staff Reporter

Lack of coordination between agencies affects project

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The tardy progress in shifting utility lines such as underground cables and water pipelines and the lack of coordination between various agencies threaten to slow down the pace of the City Roads Improvement Scheme. Officials said the widening of the road corridor from Shanghumughom to Chakka was held up by the delay in removing electricity cables and transformers.

"We had deposited Rs.29 lakhs with the KSEB in March to shift the underground cables. Despite repeated requests, there has been no response on their part. The exposed cables also pose a threat to the workers at the site," said a project official.

The delay in shifting water and sewage pipes has hampered the road widening work at many other places. Another impediment to the project is the digging up of the diversionary routes which were resurfaced before the project took off.

While the Kaithamukku- Punnapuram- West Fort road has been dug up by VSNL for laying optic fibre cables, the Kannammoola- Medical College road and the road from the VJT Hall through the side of the Saphalyam complex have been dug up by the KWA and the KSEB.

A senior Government official associated with the project said the problem exposed the lack of coordination between various agencies. "We had convened a meeting of all the departments early last year and instructed them to complete all the works well before the roads were resurfaced. Obviously, there are problems with the coordination. We have approached the Chief Minister and requested his intervention to deny sanction for the agencies to dig up the roads further," he said.

The reclassification of the capital city into Seismic Zone III has forced a redesign of the flyovers and bridges proposed under the roads project. The project follows the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Surface Transport.

Designs approved

The project managers said the flyovers and bridges had been redesigned with increased pile size and stronger box structures to withstand seismic tremors. They said the redesign would not affect the project schedule since the construction work is yet to get into full swing. The Government has approved the new designs. Though the reclassification from Zone II to III was issued in 2000, it took time for the new structural safety parameters to be drafted and the guidelines to be issued. Officials said the building code specifications issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) were followed for the redesign. There will be no change in the design of the underpass at Palayam which is under construction.

Following the revision of the seismic hazard map of India in 2000, all districts in Kerala now come under Zone III, which indicates moderate damage risk. The building code specifications issued by the BIS were altered to accommodate quake resistance.

The proposal to widen the TS canal and convert it into an inland waterway has briefly affected ongoing work on the Chakka bridge. "The piers had to be redesigned to accommodate the increased width of the waterway. Luckily, only the abutments had been completed when we were alerted on the need for changes," said a project official.

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