The Hindu 24.05.2010
A spate of works give facelift to Coimbatore
V.S. Palaniappan
Major thrust:A roadside park being developed along Avanashi Road with fountains and pathways as part of the beautification efforts ahead of the World Classical Tamil Conference in Coimbatore. —
The city is witnessing a flurry of infrastructure development works in the run up to the World Classical Tamil Conference to be held in Coimbatore from June 23 to 27. While beautification by providing facelift to green spaces is underway on the one hand, road works have been given a major thrust on the other.
Traffic islands and roadside parks that had been an eyesore are now being provided with ornamental plants, fountains and figurines. Space is being provided for lawn grass and ornamental plants along footpaths that are being laid along major roads such as Avanashi Road and Tiruchi Road.
Some major works the city had been yearning for have been turned a reality by the conference. The infrastructure works themselves are of two categories. One is the facelift to many existing facilities and the other constitutes works that will have long-term benefits.
Apart from the works executed by the State Government with its funds, the Central Government departments such as the Railways and Airports Authority of India have also taken up some very significant works. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board has taken up a major project to lay underground cables. The Rs.55-crore works on Avanashi Road, Tiruchi Road and Kamarajar Road will rid the city of the messy overhead cables, including the dangerously low-hanging ones on major roads.
In addition, there are works on three additional feeders and 21 transformers to improve the quality of power supply.
Improvements to Avanashi Road and the badly battered Tiruchi Road — the two main arterial roads — will bring immense benefit to those using these regularly.
Tiruchi Road, which forms part of National Highway 67 is being turned into an expressway at Rs.16 crore by the National Highways. The accident-prone Mettuppalayam Road will be widened at Rs.49 crore from Sukrawarpet to Narashimanaickenpalayam. The Coimbatore – Irugur railway line doubling that was pending for nearly two-decades is all set for completion. The Coimbatore Junction and North Coimbatore Station too are getting a facelift. Works are on at a good pace to complete the Hope College overbridge.
The State Highways Department is widening 72 roads at a cost of Rs.59.85 crore. The stretches include Gandhipuram – Pappanaickenpalayam, Lakshmi Mills – Puliakulam, Ramanathapuram – Nanjundapuram and Podanur – Chettipalayam Road. These roads will have four lanes.
For the first time in the history of the State, three scheme/link roads are being laid with Rs.13 crore provided by the Government from the Infrastructure and Amenities Fund of Local Planning Authority. These works are expected to decongest some of the main roads.
The Airports Authority of India is also expediting its additional terminal building project and is all set to get it inaugurated soon. The State Highways is on the job of having the approach road to the airport re-laid at a cost of Rs. 4 crore. In addition to infrastructure needs, the entertainment-starved Coimbatoreans will get a world class botanical garden on 49.40 acres at an outlay of Rs 20 crore in the first phase. The garden would be expanded in a phased manner.
