Steps sought to fast-track Chilavannur Bund Road work

Expressing concern over the inordinate delay in clearing bottlenecks on the Chilavannur Bund Road, NGOs and residents’ associations have urged the authorities to decongest the SA Road and Vyttila Junction by widening narrow stretches of the road.

They also demanded the construction of a link road connecting SA Road with the parallel Bund Road.

Highlighting the urgent need to acquire land from three owners to move forward with the Bund Road development project, Foji John, secretary of Vyttila Janakeeya Sadas, said this would enable a significant number of two-, three- and four-wheelers travelling to and from SA Road to bypass Vyttila Junction. “For years, motorists travelling from the city towards Thripunithura, Kottayam and Alappuzha have struggled to cross the ill-planned junction, where further widening of the bell mouths to and from SA Road would be difficult,” he said.

The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) should expedite the long-pending acquisition of a few plots near Thykoodam to ensure optimal use of the Bund Road as an alternative corridor, he added. Simultaneously, steps could be taken to construct a road linking SA Road and the Bund Road along the eastern side of the Chilavannur River, whose banks are being developed under the Sarovaram project. The proposed link road could pass through plots currently being cleared of encroachments. This would allow vehicles travelling from the city towards Vyttila and the NH Bypass to take a U-turn at Vyttila Janatha Road and proceed via the link road to the Bund Road. Motorists could also reach Champakkara by moving east of the NH Bypass, he added.

Echoing this view, Anil Cleetus, president of the Toc-H Road Residents’ Association, said many cities in India and abroad have adopted similar measures to decongest bottlenecked junctions like Vyttila, where multiple arterial roads converge at the NH Bypass. “Work has already begun on a walkway along the Chilavannur River. A link road can be constructed alongside at a reasonable cost, significantly easing congestion in and around Vyttila and reducing vehicular pollution,” he said.

Girijavallabhan P.M., an Eroor-based lawyer and socio-environmental activist, also urged the GCDA to widen the narrow bell mouth of the Bund Road at Thykoodam to ensure smooth vehicular flow.