KOCHI: The dismantling of the North rail overbridge (RoB) gathered pace on Tuesday even as the vendors operating under it decided not to move out until the corporation provided them alternative facilities. The dismantling work gathered pace as holes were drilled in the middle part of the bridge to cut it into pieces. The entry point of the bridge was demolished with the help of earth movers. Project engineer Biju George of Cherian Varkey Construction Company, which has taken up the dismantling project, said the work could be finished within four weeks if everything goes smoothly. “We will drill holes on the bridge and cut the pillars. Then the entire structure will be lifted and moved to other places where it will be broken into pieces. Each side bay is four-and-a-half-metre wide. The construction of the side bays is expected to be completed in six months,” Biju George said. The dismantling of the other side bay will begin after the first one is totally demolished. The construction company will shift the debris to Manapattiparambu. The steel bars will be removed from the debris and handed over to the government,” he said. Meanwhile, District Collector Sheik Pareeth said the construction of the side bays is expected to be completed in six months. “The construction of the main bridge will start after that. The work will take about a year to be completed. The work of the metro rail project will start once the construction of the new RoB begins. Eight-metre-high pillars will be built along with the main bridge. The vendors have been promised that they would be properly rehabilitated. All necessary steps will be taken in this regard,” he said. However, the vendors having shops under the bridge are not satisfied with the corporation’s promise to rehabilitate them to another place. The vendors conducted a meeting on Tuesday in the backdrop of the corporation’s decision to rehabilitate them to a new location on Paramara Road. Currently, there are 15 shops under the bridge. The corporation has alloted 13 cents to them. But the traders’ demand is to rehabilitate them to a plot of land on Paramara Road. However, neither the corporation nor the district administration has informed them regarding theissue. “They have not informed us about the rehabilitation. We will move out from our shops only if the corporation provides sheds that have proper facility to run our business,” Asif, a spare parts trader, said.
Comments
0 comment