Thiruvananthapuram: The renovation projects taken up as part of the Central Swadesh Darshan Scheme in the areas surrounding the Sree Padmanabhas-wamy Temple is all set to miss the March 31 deadline with works progressing at a snail’s’ pace.
The road in front of its East Nada is dilapidated putting the pedestrians and motorists at the receiving end.
Ahead of the visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi two months back, a slew of finishing works was undertaken in the area. But soon, KSEB cut open the renovated road for underground cabling.
The Union government had granted Rs 78.5 crore for undertaking various development projects in the region. “The road was tarred very recently, and now it’s utter chaos here. They cut open and made the road uneven and bumpy making it hard for the pedestrians. Dust is also an issue. They could have finished the work before the tarring. After all, it’s public money,” said S. Anil, a pedestrian.
Another pedestrian said that dilapidated road, street vending and haphazard parking are turning it a bottleneck here.
“They could at least fill the potholes and make the road even to facilitate smooth traffic. It’s a very narrow stretch, and parking and vending are making it worse for everyone,” said M. Babu, a commuter.
According to authorities, the renovation of the road in front of the East Nada was supposed to be completed by March 31. “Works worth '50 crore are nearing completion. The final tarring of the road will be done once the KSEB finishes the underground cabling work. We are hoping to complete the project within three months,” an official said.
According to him, the work got suffered because of the Sabarimala season and Attukal Pongala.
“The recent Pongala festival slowed down the works. The inflow of devotees during the Sabarimala pilgrimage season was more,” he added.
