Loading dispatches...
← Return to NewsroomPolitics
Uncertainty prevails over alternative road planned along Uyyakondan riverbank
Breaking
Faster registration, easier refunds: Reform rollout with GST 2.0
Uyyakondan Canal Bund Road, in Tiruchi. File | Moorthy Uncertainty prevails over the construction of a new road proposed between the MGR Statue Junction and Sunnambukaranpatti, along the banks of Uyyakondan river in Tiruchi.The road was conceived during the previous DMK regime as an alternative to the heavily congested Vayalur Road in the city, following persistent complaints from residents over severe traffic congestion on the narrow road leading to Vayalur from Puthur.The road was also expected to serve as an alternative route to the Tiruchi-Kuzhumani-Jeeyapuram Road, a major district road (MDR-461), as well as the Allithurai-Thogamalai Road (MDR-12).It would link the city with the inner link road, being developed along the Koraiyar and Kudamuritti river banks by the Tiruchi Corporation, and the semi-ring road to be developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), connecting the major national highways around the city.The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the road was drawn up by the Projects Wing of the Department of Highways, which was expected to execute the project originally. Later, it was decided that the road would be developed by the Water Resources Department (WRD), as it has jurisdiction over the bunds along the river.While WRD sources said administrative sanction was awaited for the project, local residents wanted it to be executed expeditiously to decongest the Vayalur Road.“It is a badly needed alternative route to for people living along the Vayalur Road, which is facing severe congestion; pedestrians are not even able to cross it. The existing narrow road is already being used by a sizeable section of people. If widened, it will be very useful,” observed S. Pushpavanam, a resident of the locality and secretary, Consumer Protection Council, Tamil Nadu.Change in govt.However, doubts linger among a section of people. “With the change of government, we are not sure whether the project would get the sanction now. But it is essential to develop the road. At the same time, care should be taken that the project does not affect or reduce the width of the Uyyakondan canal, an irrigation source,” said N. Rajendran of Vayalur, a farmers’ leader.The new two-lane road, with a width of 7.5 metres, was proposed to developed at total cost of ₹186 crore, including about ₹65 crore earmarked for land acquisition. About 40,000 sq. m of lands would have to be acquired at a few places along the river bund for the project.An elevated structure was planned across the Puthur Weir and aqueduct, the confluence point of the Uyyakondan, the Koraiyar, and the Kudamuritti rivers, along with a high-level rotary connecting the new link road being built by the Tiruchi Corporation along the Koraiyar bund from Panjapur (near the Integrated Bus Stand) to the Karur Highway. Published - May 20, 2026 02:40 pm IST
Kerala Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan during a press conference at the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) | Addressing a press conference after the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said all the land acquired for the project would be de-notified and the yellow-hued concrete markers that demarcated the prospective line would be removed.The Chief Minister, however, did not rule out the possibilities of the United Democratic Front (UDF) government coming up with its own semi high-speed rail project. He said that the government was “not against a rail project which will not affect the State environmentally or financially.”Cases to be withdrawn“We are not against high-speed rail projects. We opposed K-Rail because it was an environmental disaster and not economically viable. The K-Rail project did not have a proper Detailed Project Report (DPR). The LDF government had given up on the project and alternative projects were being discussed. Unfortunately, land acquired for the project was not de-notified, due to which people were suffering as they were unable to sell or pledge their own property. All the cases connected with the agitation will be withdrawn,” he said.The Anti-K-Rail SilverLine People’s Struggle Committee had on Tuesday called on Mr. Satheesan to issue an order withdrawing the SilverLine project. Mr. Satheesan had said ahead of the Assembly elections that the UDF would de-notify the land acquired for SilverLine if voted to power.The State had witnessed strong protests led by the UDF against the project since 2022. Revenue surveyors faced stiff opposition from Congress workers in many places. The party workers had used the uprooting of the yellow markers as a symbolic form of protest against the project. The land-use battle over the SilverLine alignment demarcation reflected resoundingly in the Assembly also with the UDF staging walkouts over the police action against long-time local residents, who, fearful of displacement, resisted the laying of markers for the semi-high-speed railway project.The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also been against the project, with State leaders saying the project lacked Central approval and, hence, lacked credibility. The LDF government had made several unsuccessful attempts to get approval from the Union government. Published - May 20, 2026 12:52 pm IST
Discussion (0)