Kerala - Kochi   

Skycity project awaits clearance from Union Environment Ministry

John L. Paul

Environment Impact Assessment conducted by NIO

DREAM CITY: An artist's impression of the Skycity project.

KOCHI: With the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Skycity project over, the proponents are awaiting clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

A public hearing was held on Thursday in the Collectorate, in which representatives from the Corporation of Cochin, GCDA, State Pollution Control Board and socio-environmental activists participated. They discussed the viability and safety aspects of the project.

The EIA for the project was conducted by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO). Under the project, the Skycity would begin from Kundanoor Junction in the NH bypass, pass above the Chilavanoor Bund Road and backwaters and extend up to the Sahodaran Aiyyapan Road. From there, it will be connected with the Subhash Chandra Bose Road, said A.R.S Vadhyar, who conceived the project.

Skycity was mooted to reduce traffic congestion in the eastern and southern parts of the city, around Vytilla. The project envisages a four-km-long elevated concrete road, built atop pillars erected at a height of seven metres above the water bodies. There will be 14-metre wide buildings and shops at the centre of the 42-metre-wide Skycity, flanked by two-metre wide footpaths and 4.5-metre wide car-parking spaces.

Roads, which are 7.5 metres wide, would be built on either side. There would be additional facility to park cars atop buildings. A cable car on top will give a good view of the city and could become a tourist attraction. Mr. Vadhyar said that members of the public could use the stretch free of cost. "The cost of the Rs.467-crore project will be recovered from the sale of shops and buildings atop the structure. Vehicles coming from West Kochi can enter the Skycity through the Chilavannur Bund Road, cut across to SA Road or Subhash Bose Road and enter the NH bypass. Thus, they will get easy access to the northern part of Kochi. Vehicles proceeding south can enter Skycity from SA Road and reach Kundanoor, avoiding South Janatha and Vytilla," he said. It will also relieve the burden of people from the eastern and southern side of the city to go to main shopping centres such as M G Road, Menaka and Broadway to purchase goods, said Rohit Vishwanath Prabhu, director (Finance) of the company.

At Thursday's public hearing, participants expressed concern at how thousands of people atop the Skycity will be evacuated in case of emergencies such as fire.

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