KOCHI: In the wake of the opening of Edappally RoB on Saturday, residents living near National Highway-17, in Paravoor sector are an agitated lot. They fear that their 5-metre wide road, also a part of the Edappally-Moothakunam route, which already witnesses heavy rush on most days, will soon become congested.“Vehicles coming from the western region will utilise this road to reach Guruvayoor and other northern parts of the state and this route will face heavy traffic rush. The situation is going to be grave once our road is invaded by the heavy traffic invades our road,” said S Naseer, a resident of Paravoor.The route, even though was a short cut was not utilised much in the past though. “People used to hesitate to use the Paravoor route because they would then have to wait for a long period at the railway gate crossing at Edappally. Now as the gate is closed the road users will prefer this route,” he added.According to National Highway-17 Samyukta Samara Samiti convener Hashim Chennabilly the only solution to prevent the rush of traffic is to immediately build a four-lane road in the area, a proposal which was put forward by the Ministry of Road Transport in 1972.“The 5-metre lane was chosen for road widening project by the Ministry of Road Transport in 1972. Land acquisition for this project was aggressively conducted and people were forced out of their lands on the government’s quest for development. Now, the 24-kilometre stretch is lying idle and is an apt symbol of neglect,” he said.The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), who have been handed over the project at present, say that they will not do any work on the project unless more land is acquired. NHAI project director C T Abraham said, “Earlier, the land was acquired by the Ministry of Road Transport. If the National Highways have to do their part of the project, more land has to be acquired.” Samara Samiti has said that they will protest if immediate measures are not taken. “We are not willing to move from our homes again. The State government should interfere and take up the project and build a four-lane road for us,” Hashim said.
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