T’PURAM: The Centre has agreed to upgrade the Kerala stretch of road connecting Kannur airport to Mysuru that travels through Mattanur, Koottupuzha, Makkoottam, Virajpet and Madikeri as a national highway, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.
Vijayan said that the decision was taken during his meeting with Union minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi on Wednesday. An in-principle decision has been taken to construct a ring road from Parippally till Vizhinjam, Vijayan added. It is estimated that the project would cost Rs 4,500 crore. The state had asked that the Centre should bear the expenses of the project, while the state would bear 50% of the cost of land acquisition. Further discussions at the level of officials will be undertaken in this regard, Vijayan said.
The meeting also decided to include 11 roads in the state under the Bharatmala project. These are Alappuzha-Changanassery-Vazhoor-14 mile, Kayamkulam to Thiruvalla, junction near Vijayapuram till Unnukkal junction, junction near Kalpetta till Mananthavady, Bharanikkavu till TTL Chavara, Thiruvananthapuram to Thenmala, Hosdurg-Panathur-Bagamandala-Madikkeri, Cherkkala-Kallidukka, Wadankkancherry-Pollachi, road connecting Pampa to NH 183A near Laha and Thiruvananthapuram international seaport till NH-47 Karamana-Kaliyikkavila near Vizhinjam.
