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TRDCL stops road work

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Allegations on the quality of road works has now turned out to be another stumbling block for the City Road Improvement Project (CRIP), which is already struggling to meet the deadline. Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Ltd (TRDCL), the project implementing agency of CRIP, has decided to stop the major road works being done along the Sasthamangalam-Vellayambalam stretch following the allegations made by a section of public regarding the quality of roads works. A top TRDCL official said here on Monday that most of around 80 labourers working along the stretch have been relocated and only minor concreting and slab laying works are being done on the stretch now. “When we started doing the excavation works we found that a number of underground utilities including pipes and cables were still to be removed. In other stretches we accommodated these problems to enable timely completion of work. But here, there is criticism from certain sections of the residents. We have stopped road formation and major excavation works,” the official said. Refuting allegations regarding the quality of works, he said TRDCL had been continuously monitoring the excavation and drain works along the stretch and there are no issues of quality. Meanwhile, Public Works Department Principal Secretary Tom Jose said no specific complaints regarding quality of road works along the Shasthamangalam-Vellayambalam stretch had been brought to the notice of Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB). “From the report given by our project engineers there is no issue with the quality of work. There are complaints that the drain is not going in a straight line and that there are some curves here and there. But that is because we have to accommodate the underground utilities also,” he said. Unclaimed utilities Mr. Jose said a number of unclaimed underground utilities were discovered during the excavation of the road. “Nobody knows who laid them or to whom these belonged to or how many are exactly there. There are telephone cables, electrical utilities and pipes of all colours and sizes,” he said. Residents of Panikker’s Lane, near Shasthamangalam, meanwhile, have aired their reservation regarding the construction of a storm water drain diverting rain water from the main road to their lane. The residents have protested the construction of the drain saying that it will flood the lane during heavy rain. Flooding However, the Principal Secretary said the problem of flooding could be solved if a blocking structure at the end of the drain was removed. “I am told that the drain’s end is blocked by some compound wall, which is basically an encroachment. If it is really an encroachment we will have it removed so that the drain can be connected somewhere. We will refer this to the Revenue officials to find out if there is an encroachment,” he said.

                                                                                                               
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