The Hindu : Rebuilding of culverts to be speeded up

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 30, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

Rebuilding of culverts to be speeded up

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM April 29. A high- level meeting convened by the District Collector, E.Ayappan, here today decided to expedite the reconstruction of the two culverts at Thampanoor and Power House road and complete a major component of the project before the onset of the South West monsoon.

The review meeting, which was attended by officials from various Government departments, resolved to finish the work on the abutments by the last week of May. Officials pointed out that unless the abutments were completed in time, the rains would throw the entire work out of schedule and set the project back by several months.

The meeting decided to close the exit gate of the second railway terminal on the Parthas side and block the bypass facility for vehicles plying the Power House road. Engineers and contractors observed that the continuous movement of vehicles through the terminal would pose problems for the piling work on the narrow road.

They, however, said the entry gate could be kept open for vehicles entering the railway station. The Collector informed the meeting that the Traffic Police would be directed to reroute vehicles.

Highlighting the need for time- bound execution of the project, Mr.Ayappan said the onset of the monsoon and the reopening of schools would aggravate the problems caused by traffic block on the key route. He said the project was being closely monitored by the committee of officials for the development of the capital city headed by the Additional Chief Secretary, Babu Jacob.

The PWD (NH) officials attributed the slow progress of the work to the obstruction caused by a drainage manhole by the side of the culvert at Thampanoor. The delay in removing the obstruction has already led to a delay of two weeks. The officials said 26 piles had been completed on the Thampanoor side, leaving another 10 to be finished by May 5.

The capping of the entire set of piles was scheduled to be completed by May 20 so that the two abutments can be finished by the May 31 deadline. "Once the abutments are over, they can be linked using girders and the rest of the work can proceed without any problems due to flooding,'' they said.

The Kerala Water Authority officials however said the relaying of the drainage line was delayed by the piling work since the pipes were susceptible to the impact of pile drivers. The officials assured the meeting that the manholes and drainage lines would be completed in less than 10 days on a round-the-clock schedule and using pre cast materials.

On the Power House side, the piling work will commence on Wednesday. It is scheduled to complete 24 piles over a period of six days. The PWD officials said the excavation work at this end was slowed down by the presence of heavy stones, which had to be removed manually.

The meeting decided to proceed with the work on a war footing and eliminate any hitches. The Rs.82 lakhs project is the first phase of a scheme to check flooding in the low-lying areas of East Fort and Thampanoor. Under the approved plan, the existing arch type culvert will be demolished and a new RCC duct slab-type culvert with a vent way will be constructed. The height of the culvert will be raised by 90 cm from the road level.

The PWD engineers admit that the widening of the culverts would not serve the purpose unless the railway culvert is also reconstructed to accommodate the increased flow. They said it was up to the Railways to prevent the clogging of the canal passing beneath the railway line.

The second phase of the project involves the reconstruction of the culvert at East Fort. The level of the road will also be raised to accommodate the increased flow from upstream.

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