Traffic thru Manaveeyam street to continue

Thiruvananthapuram: It is learnt that the proposal to stop all vehicle traffic through Manaveeyam street has been tossed out. That the traffic here might only be limited to one-way, may be the only decision on which there is a consensus. For, there is a cloud of ambiguity over everyone concerned with this Smart City project.

Smart City officials say that various artists' group are yet to agree on the design, while artists are not sure what the Smart City consultant has come up with. At the moment, three different designs are under consideration. 

"It will be a one-way street. It will be a cultural space first, and a street later," says D. Raghoothaman, president of Manaveeyam Theruvorakoottam.

The consultant for the smart city project, IPE Global Private Limited, had prepared a design, taking components from each of these designs, according to officials.  Based on cost constraints, they had let go of various components in the three designs. Also, consultants have proposed that there should be solar lights, electrical points throughout the walls on either side, water kiosks and refreshment centres.

Architects Manoj Kini, Sudheer B. and G. Shankar had prepared the three designs. Mr Shankar's design pertains only to a section of the street, according to officials. It proposes a covered performance space. 

Mr Kini was the first one to prepare a design, when Manaveeyam Theruvorakoottam, a collective which organises performances and shows on the street, wanted to propose the idea of the street's makeover to the corporation. However, later when the district administration and tourism department started thinking about the street makeover, separately, Mr Sudheer was roped in to design. The three designs, having originated in three heads, do not have much in common.