Kerala: Bypass work to resume as trade unions okay crane use

ALAPPUZHA: The labour row at the site of the bypass construction project here was resolved at a meeting held by the labour officer with the workers on Tuesday.  Earlier, a dispute between the trade unions and the company on the manual off-loading of the construction materials had affected the work.   The unions on Monday blocked the contractors from using cranes and prevented the unloading of  iron rods from trailers.  As per the agreement reached on Tuesday,   the workers would be allowed to offload materials weighing below 65 tonnes.

The piling work for the elevated highway costing  Rs 348.43 crore had begun  in September last year.  In April,  the work was hit due to the pending   bills. Mr R. Harikumar, labour officer, said that the trade unions had been complaining  that their jobs had been hit because of the use of cranes. The issue was  resolved at the conciliation meeting,” he said. The 3-km-long  elevated highway is being built by connecting two railway overbridges at Kuthirappanthi and Malikamukku. 

The company has to complete only 60 percent of works by March, 2017,  and  construction worth  Rs 40 crore has  been done so far. A total of  236 piles and 32 pile caps have been completed with  236 piles and 38 caps pending.    Mr R. Nazer, district president, CITU,  said they wouldn’t oppose the use of cranes  anymore, but they  should not be used for works that can be done by the
manual workers.           

The  project, which is being funded jointly by the central and state governments, will have two lanes from Kommadi to Kalarkode. It will have two major  and four minor junctions. The 10-metre-wide road will have 1.5-metre paved shoulders on either side. The project is expected to be completed in two years.