Agencies pressed to finish Sabarimala road works ahead of pilgrimage season
With under two months to the Sabarimala pilgrimage season, authorities in Pathanamthitta and Kottayam have directed agencies to complete pending road and infrastructure works on time.
With less than two months remaining before the annual Sabarimala pilgrimage season begins, authorities have intensified pressure on executing agencies to complete road and infrastructure works taken up under the Sabarimala Package within the stipulated timeframe.
At a recent meeting of the district development committee in Pathanamthitta, members sought urgent action on delays in works being carried out by the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB). Ranni MLA Pazhakulam Madhu asked that alignment inspection and utility shifting for the Ranni bridge be wrapped up within a week. Pointing to the approaching pilgrimage season, he also pressed for a traffic police station to be set up at Vadasserikkara before the season starts.
The Aban Junction flyover in Pathanamthitta town was also reviewed, with Abin Varkey, MLA, instructing the KRFB executive engineer to complete the work on an urgent basis. A meeting involving the District Collector and the MLAs of Adoor and Aranmula is to be convened to discuss the construction of the Vayarpuzha bridge. Mr. Varkey additionally sought faster completion of works at the Pathanamthitta General Hospital.
In Kottayam, District Collector Chetan Kumar Meena announced that a meeting of elected representatives and officials of local self-government institutions would be held to review the stray dog menace in the district. The decision followed concerns raised at the district development committee meeting over the growing number of stray dogs in various parts of the district, including on the Kottayam Medical College campus.
Participants also flagged the dumping of food waste by visitors on the medical college hospital premises, noting that it was contributing to the stray dog problem. Authorities are set to examine measures, including the possibility of setting up a community kitchen, to address the issue.
Officials of the National Highways Authority of India informed Francis George, MP, that boundary demarcation as part of the survey for widening the national highway would be completed within two weeks. Mr. George also called for speeding up works under the MP Local Area Development Scheme, and sought steps to divert some Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) night services through the Kottayam MCH and via the road in front of the Kottayam railway station.
Ahead of the Sabarimala Mandalam season, Rony K. Baby, MLA, sought urgent completion of road repair works in the Kanjirappally constituency, while Poonjar MLA M.J. Sebastian called for a special meeting to review Sabarimala preparations in his constituency.
Kottayam Government Medical College Hospital authorities said they were examining steps to introduce an ePOS system for services at the institution. Complaints over laboratories and scanning centres near the MCH allegedly charging excessive fees also came up for discussion. The authorities said the possibility of excluding institutions that charge excessive fees from MCH schemes would be discussed at the Medical College Development Committee meeting. The District Medical Officer said all such institutions had been instructed to prominently display the rates of various tests.