In a move that could have political ramifications in the coming days, the LDF government has decided to demolish and rebuild the flyover in Palarivattom, built during the tenure of the previous UDF government, at Kochi in Kerala.
The decision to rebuild the flyover has been taken following a report by experts from IIT Madras. The report had observed that the condition of the over bridge was so bad that rebuilding was the only option. A decision in this regard was taken during a high-level committee meeting convened by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday. "The government has decided to go for rebuilding as the experts suggested that rebuilding will be more cost effective than re-strengthening as the structure is in such a bad state," the chief minister said.
According to the CM, an expert committee will be assigned to prepare the design of the bridge. Metro man E. Sreedharan has agreed to the government’s request to take up the responsibility of supervision. The work will start next month and will be completed by October, 2020.
Built with a budget of Rs 48 crore, the flyover was shut earlier this year as major cracks were found, within two years after it was inaugurated. The work on the flyover had started in 2014 and it was open to the public in 2016.
Earlier, an expert committee headed by Sreedharan had also submitted a report that noted that any kind of repairing work or other means cannot solve the defects of the bridge. "The government was waiting for the report from IIT experts to take a final call," Vijayan said.
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Meanwhile, former CM Oommen Chandy, during whose tenure the over bridge was built, has welcomed the LDF government's decision to rebuild the Palarivattom flyover. "It is the prerogative of the state government," he said.
When asked whether he sees any political motivation behind the decision to demolish and rebuild the structure build by his government, Chandy said he would comment about it later.
The scam behind the construction of the over bridge has been creating ripples in the state for quite some time after IIT experts found out that the flyover has major structural problems, apart from issues in the materials used. The condition of the flyover is so poor that it can endanger life and property of the public, the report said.
The state government had launched a probe into the mismanagement and the case was handed over to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB). The VACB had arrested top officials, including former PWD secretary T.O. Sooraj who is said to be close to political higher-ups, in connection with the ongoing probe into the flyover construction.
