NH 47 Bypass work: A long wait ends

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Putting an end to the two-decade old impasse, the statutory gazette notification on land acquisition for the construction of the Kazhakkoottam-Kaliyikkavila NH 47 Bypass was published the other day.
 The 43-km portion of the NH 47  Thiruvananthapuram Bypass between Kazhakkoottam and Karode (Kaliyikkavila) has been a long-pending major road project in Thiruvananthapuram district. The project has significant implications for smoothening the flow of road traffic from the southern districts of the State to important destinations such as Kanyakumari across the border in Tamil Nadu.
 The total cost of the project, under BOT, is expected to be around ` 750 crore, including land acquisition formalities, which are expected to be completed within one year.
 The 43-km stretch is part of the larger 212- km NH 47 Bypass project of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in the State from Thuravoor which was started in 1974.
After completing acquisition of land sufficient for a 27-km four-lane road between Kazhakkoottam and Kottukal (end of Vizhinjam village), a two-lane stretch of 22 km between Kazhakkoottam and Kovalam Junction was completed about 15 years ago. Thereafter, the work came to a standstill.
 Shashi Tharoor MP, in a press release issued here, stated that with the publication of the notification, the final statutory step for starting the crucial land acquisition process has been crossed and all necessary action by the NHAI to start work on the project, which is expected to transform the entire south-western stretch of Thiruvananthapuram district, would commence soon.
 The publication of the notification will bring to an end the suffering of hundreds of land owners who were unable to dispose of their land due to the interminable impasse over the project for almost two decades.
 Shashi Tharoor had brought the issue to the notice of Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways C P Joshi. The MP said that the continuous pressure had finally paid off.