Motorists and pedestrians are having a harrowing time in the Aroor-Thuravur NH 66 corridor ever since the NHAI began work on the elevated highway a year ago.
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT
The Kerala High Court has directed an amicus curie, who was appointed recently, to submit a report on the current plight of the carriageway in the 13-km Aroor-Thuravur NH 66 corridor, where motorists and pedestrians are having a harrowing time ever since the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) began work on an elevated highway a year ago.
The court had earlier this month rapped the Alappuzha District Collector and the NHAI, saying that the two were blaming each other, rather than taking measures to end the massive traffic snarls due to the damaged carriageways on either side of the work site and the inordinate delay in readying diversion roads. Citing the impediments it faced while constructing the elevated highway, the NHAI had sought the intervention of the Collector, in his capacity as Chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority, to help divert vehicles and ready drains to clear water from the road.
The government submitted before the court on Wednesday that the Collector of Alappuzha had convened a stakeholderโs meeting, and that steps had been taken to divert heavy goods carriers from the corridor.
It had been decided earlier this month to ready a 3.50-metre-wide carriageway on either side and 1.5-metre pathways for pedestrians.
