Pathways to future

The old and forgotten Expressway project appears to have received a shot in the arm with the Central Govt proposing to taking up the challenge. The report last month in Keralakaumudi talks about a fresh alignment from Kanyakumari to Trichur, passing via Trivandrum- Punalur- Kottayam and eastern parts of Cochin city and terminating at Trichur.

The project makes up Phase I of the project, and the State Govt has requested the Expressway to be extended to Mangalore through the Malabar regions.

Features of the project

• 400 km long
• 60 m wide with 4/6 lane carriageway
• Total cost 5000 crores
• 100-120km/hr design speed
• passes through the East side of NH 47 and MC Road

The only flipside is that we won't have the 'International' tag to this project, unlike the other similar breeds propping up all over the small state, like the Int'l Airports proposed in almost all Municipalities.

Now the real challenge is only set to begin here. The report says that Central Govt will fund the acquisition of land, but still it's tricky...the onus of the process of acquisition falls back on Kerala Govt.

I've told all I've to say about the Kerala Expressway project here in this post: Setting the Standards: Part II, and I just wanna add on to that post. The Central Govt has also planned a few new highways in Trivandrum, except from the Expressway project. Here is a snapshot.

In a surprisingly far-sighted and appreciative move, GoI has envisaged development of a few new roads to augment the development of the Kerala capital. Two ring roads, both 30m wide, 4 laned highways connecting the suburbs of the city have been proposed. An outer ring road, 60 km long will connect Vizhinjam and Kovalam to the MC Road in Vattapara (via Aruvikkara) and from there connecting to NH 47 via the Film & Video Park. The 30km long inner ring road will connect the immediate peripheries of the urban district from Thiruvallam all the way around to Kuzhivila near Technopark Phase III.

Apart from this, a stand-alone bypass road is also proposed from Attingal to Parassala, which will re-route all the bypassing traffic without touching urban Trivandrum. It remains to be seen if both the projects, the Expressway and stand-alone Bypass are going to be materialized. Two tolled super highways vying for the same traffic may not be a great idea but I'd like to see the Expressway materialize here.

Instead of the stand-alone Bypass, the ring road projects could do much more benefits to the city. Once the Technocity, Technopark Expansion and various Industrial Parks proposed along the NH 47 are realized then it will become essential for re-routing the traffic or else we will step out of our houses into a 40km long traffic snarl.

Here is the rough sketch of the proposed road projects: The blue one indicates the stand-alone bypass and the red marks the route of the inner and outer ring roads. The proposed Expressway may well pass just inside the blue line and to the right of the MC Road.

There were also talks about connecting Trivandrum to the neighbouring town of Tirunelveli via the Ghats but given the nature and classification of the terrain that is likely to remain in paper. Too many environmental constraints, and who would like to waste their time and energy (and money) on that?

Talking about waste of money and time, here is a classical whacky one. Kerala Govt is going to undertake a feasibility study to connect Kesavadasapuram to East Fort through a 6km long flyover, and that too without ramps in between! The lightening quick mental calculations by Hon Minister PJ Joseph estimates the cost to be at around 500 crores. huh, the whole massive Trivandrum Road Development project  cost just over 250 crores, how many times effective and beneficial it would be for the city if that money is used for implementing a Phase II of road developments? You could build over 20 flyovers in the city with that money. Hmm, the only party which benefits from these dream-projects would be the consultants.

It is about time that our leaders and population see the wider picture that good roads are always the course to progress, instead of building Airports all over the state. Agree, airports are far glamorous than building a black asphalted road surface, but which one reaps dividends?

Mumbai-Pune Expressway image courtesy Indiashots.com

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TS Canal: A passage through time

I was pleasantly surprised to come across some of the vintage photographs of my sweet hometown while roaming through Google last evening. Historical portraits of how my city looked a good few decades ago, to be more precise, three-quarters of a century back.

Now I think anyone who loves this place should closely look and assess how the modern day democracy has benefited the city. The images in the post are that of Parvathy Puthanar or rather the TS Canal (Trivandrum- Shornur Canal). This 560 km waterway, as history says, was used as a means for transport of both people and goods, as an avenue for leisure and the water even used for bathing and drinking. The canal starts near Kovalam, a few kilometers from Trivandrum city-center, cuts through the city touching the Airport perimeter, old industrial estates, Akkulam lake, Kazhakkuttam and flows into the Kadinamkulam Lake. It then joins the Ashtamudi through a magnificent feat of Engineering called the Varkala tunnel.

TS Canal flowing into the Akkulam lake Pic courtesy Sudheesh Nair

The Parvathi Puthanar significantly boosted the trade relations that Trivandrum enjoyed with its neighbouring towns. There were anecdotes about the Travancore Royal family enjoying the rides in the waterway with crystal clear water, as evident from the name itself.

Alas, the name of the canal now severely contradicts itself. For a present day Trivandrumite, the TS Canal is synonymous with pollution, a portal for dispersal of communicable diseases and an end point for the raw sewage and wastes of the city. It's a total mess, a bane in itself. The once marvellous ecosystem has degraded into a weed-house, a breeding ground for rats and a habitat for vibio cholerae, E coli and thy mates. Not to mention the stenchy odour polluting the whole neighbourhood. The canal threatens the quality of ground water and even the Akkulam and Veli lakes.

Blame it on the authorities and the lopsided development of the city, but Parvathi Puthanar isn't something that the citizens could afford to let die. There has been sporadic and ineffective efforts by various Governments to resuscitate the waterway but with lack of funds, incompetent methods to check the primary pollutants and administrative red tapes meant that the canal remained a curse.

It doesn't give any comfort to see the canal in all its glory during the reign of the King. See for yourself...All the vintage photographs sourced from the LIFE photo-archive hosted by Google.


Then: The expansive boatyard near Chakkai bridge having business as usual.

Today: Somewhere nearby along the TS Canal, water as black as soot, smells rotten, flow stagnated and the ecosystem consisting of rats, weeds, parasites, microbes and the likes. (pic courtesy: Brijesh Nair)



Then: The Vallakadavu Boathouse brimming with activity. Built in the 1820 it was the hub of cargo and passenger transport for Travancore State.

Today: An abandoned historical monument only of interest to Archeology students and historians. TRIDA spent 70 lakhs to restore the structure, but for what? (pic courtesy: The Hindu)



Then: TS Canal near Varkala.

Today: The waterway flowing beside the Sivagiri Madam can scarcely be seen. (Pic courtesy: Moorthyphotos.blogspot.com)




Then: The famed Varkala tunnel.
Today: Passage almost impossible; clogged with silt and invaded by weeds. (pics courtesy: Moorthyphotos.blogspot.com)
Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan and officials visiting the tunnel as part of works related to National Waterway III


Then: The picturesque and green waterway used for commerce and travel.

Today: Too much "greenery"... Water hyacinths and weeds are the major travellers and inhabitants of the system.


Then: The Chakkai boatyard from a different angle.
Today: This is somewhere around Chakkai. The colour of the water tells the tale. Those kids sure got guts! (pic courtesy The Hindu)



So there! What has the modern democratic governments done upto now? There is no point in flagging the dead horse, so lets move on and see what they propose to do about this catastrophe.

The Theerapadham Project envisaged by the authorities in the late 90s planned to convert the urban stretch of the TS Canal into a waterfront haven, yeah something like the image you see below. A dredger did some moving around here and there and deposited all the silt onto the canal banks. Soon there were protests from local residents about sullage on the shores and work stalled. At the first rains all those deposits were washed back into the canal and everything went back to square one.

There are fresh hopes raised when the 74 km Kovalam- Kollam stretch of the waterway was included as a part of the Smart Waterway project of the Central Govt. This will facilitate the desilting of the TS Canal, widening the canal to 14meters and to a depth of 2.2 m and restoration of the Sivagiri tunnel to complete the linking of the stretch to the National Waterway network which currently begins in Kollam. Works are currently underway on some reeches.

The project also envisages the integration of the Akkulam- Veli lake bodies and restoring the aquatic qualities of the water bodies. Boat terminals in Trivandrum and Varkala are planned. This time things have more chances to be fruitful because the primary funding is from the Central Government. Read more about the project here.

But for the full facial of Parvathi Puthanar into a modern day beauty there are some serious under-the-skin treatments to be performed which solely lie on the local self governments. First and foremost task is to check the influx of sewage into the TS Canal. Strict enforcement of law is necessary against whoever pollutes the water body. There has to be measures in place to check silting and ensure free flow of water. And obviously, one need to learn from earlier mistakes and make sure the dredged out sediments are disposed off properly. Combined effort of more than two Government Departments are needed for the whole process, which could be the toughest job of all!

Once realized, the prospects are immense! The cheaper transport options and growth of trade & commerce appear to be immediate benefits. Perhaps the Theerapadham project could well and truly take off once the waterway project is successful. The canal presently runs almost parallel to the NH Bypass and the NH 47 upto the Technocity area, before merging with Kadinamkulam. This throws up an exciting prospect of a waterfront boulevard on the lines of those in Amsterdam or Copenhagan. With the Internationally renowned destinations like Kovalam and Varkala on either sides and the local attraction of Akkulam-Veli on its way its a dream setting for any city .Throw in the swanky new International Airport under construction on its path I already see the intelligent investor rubbing his hands and licking his lips!

Now we don't want this to end up like the canal system in Alappuzha which constantly deliver chaos to the town. Town planners must also walk in the boots of an interior designer if we want to see a truly charming parkway. And please, don't give us another dampener like the Veli-Akkulam Walkway which has broken down and dissolved in many areas.

Are these ideas outlandish? I honestly don't feel so.. I strongly feel that as a nation in gallop, our cities need to think a step above the big names I mentioned in this article. And why can't Trivandrum? May be this is one chance to show the world we're capable of exhibiting a glossy showcase as well!

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Taller, greener, better...

There is good news just out for skyscraper buffs like me!

The Civil Aviation Ministry and the Airport Authority of India have trimmed down the height restrictions for constructions around our airports. This allows for buildings to sprout higher into the skies above our cities, almost double to what was permitted until yesterday.



I expect Kerala to significantly make use of this waive in the existing law. Kerala has been the only state outside the megapolis Mumbai, and to a lesser extent Gurgaon, to embrace the highrise culture. The trend which was kicked off in Cochin in the early 90s slowly spread to even the smaller Municipal towns of the state. Its become a fashion statement with even towns like Thiruvalla and Kottayam with just over 1 lakh population hosting 20+ structures.

Even though it may take some time for our local self Govts to adapt themselves to the law, it is certain that the Architects and builders would be licking their lips to make full use of it. Kerala is only second to West Bengal in population density; with 35 million inhabitants @ 825/sq km and severe scarcity of de-notified habitable land, it is common sense to understand that this model of urban development suits us best.

I'm a sucker for tallies, yo! I admire the style of urban development followed in North America and Australia which plots a highrise CBD, with suburbs harbouring midrises and housing estates. Each suburb is planned to be self-sufficient on its own for their shopping and entertainment needs, with residents travelling to city-center only for business and work. The CBD builds and rebuilds itself with major improvements necessary only in the transportation network.

A typical US city; Chicago seen here

European cities have taken a different route in urban planning with the CBDs not distinguishing itself from the suburbia in terms of height. Apart from a handful of cities like Frankfurt and Paris the concept of a tall central district was considered alien. But lately Moscow and even London appears to be moving towards the American way with new skyscrapers planned in their erstwhile low-rise heartlands.

Standard European cityscape; Berlin, Germany

In India there doesn't seem to be any definite pattern; haphazard has been the general rule, and Kerala has followed suit. This waiving of height restrictions means that now buildings would be allowed to rise twice as high as previously allowed. The new regulations make it possible for utilization of the land in a better, economical manner. Even though AAI primarily had Mumbai in mind while trimming the numbers, Kerala will benefit more than the megalopolis as along with the high population density we also have the highest concentration of present and planned International Airports in the country, 3 at present, 1 under serious planning and a dozen or so proposed, cough..cough..**



Kerala already has quite a few impressive records for highrise construction. Apart from the tallest u/c residential tower in South India, the Choice Paradise, there are elaborate plans for even taller apartments, hotel complexes, IT parks and so on, and this new regulations will be a shot in the arm as well.

I believe this would lead to a better utilization of land for supporting the exploding urban population. Utilization of land is a critical component of city-planning and the in-city airports, like the one in Trivandrum, did hinder its vertical rise in a big way. The major arteries of Trivandrum, especially the MG Road were shut down to highrise structures because the runway at TIA was too close. The newly developing pockets of the city along the NH Bypass also had height handicaps because it fell directly on the take-off funnel. With a cap of 60m for highrises even on NH Bypass, Akkulam, this seemed another handcuff for the builders and planners. As I understand it, structures could rise upto 50 stories on Akkulam shores where anything beyond 21 floors were not possible before.


Well, if you ask me if anyone is going to build such tall sky-kissers, Kerala cities have already breached the 30 floor mark and planning permission has been sought for 48 floored skyscrapers outside the Trivandrum city limits. A liquor baron in the city had plans for a true mixed-use skyscraper but this proposal got stuck on AAI tables. So if you ask me, I'm optimistic to see Kerala produce skyscrapers of a different breed!

Apartment developers could score some brownie points by going for true highrises because it gives an opportunity to provide more green, open spaces for the residents. I'm no fan of urban sprawl, where the city extends miles and miles into the outbacks. Expanding horizontally is inevitable for a growing city but only after it has exhausted the options for vertical growth. Sprawl will only lead to more complications in the future, like transportation, increased cost of maintaining infrastructure over a wider geographical area & encroachment into farmlands and forest-lands. If we don't want to end up as a bonsai form of Los Angeles, then we'd better check the horizontal growth of our cities. Experts are calling for more mixed-use developments to counter the sprawl, and growing taller is definitely the striking option.

And know what, taller could well be the greener option too! We've already had a beginning here in Trivandrum, SFS Grande, remember? Go green, go tall and save our poor Earth from this CO2 witch...please.

With the new AAI regulations in place, it is now upto the Govt of Kerala to get their priorities right regarding the width of the roads, policies such as FAR, utility developments and urban layouts with taller structures in mind. At least in the new developing corridors, provisions had to be made for the smooth graduation of our cities from midrise havens to highrise districts!

So let the race begin, eh? ;)

Thanks for JK and Desipundit for featuring this article.
The article also featrued in Urban Architecture

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Good day for ducks...and dogs

There are two ways to react when you're subjected to a problem. One is to grab the bull by the horn and bring it down to its knees. Simple words, tackle the situation.

Another way, and the easiest one, is to walk away from the situation, so far that the heat of the issue doesn't burn your skin anymore. This is the option which seems to have attracted the Corporation of Trivandrum when it came to dealing with a perennial trouble: the floods in the city center.

Ever since Trivandrum grew out of its walls half a century back, the residents have been tormented by this menace after even the slightest drizzle. And after torrential monsoon rains the city roads morphed itself into an elaborate canal system mimicking Venice at its best. The major vessels of the city system got clogged, including the biggest market of South Kerala- Chalai, the City and long distance Bus Terminals, the Central Railhead and hundreds of offices and commercial establishments. Not to mention the poor public getting stuck in knee and chest high, murky waters, with no way of reaching dry grounds.

Trivandrum Central Bus Terminal after a rain!!

With Trivandrum being the focal point of road-rail transport in Kerala, disruption in the Central terminals meant disintegration of the whole system, statewide. The signal and control gadgets of Railways went haywire during floods, costing the system crores in repair alone. The capital city brought to a standstill just in one bout of rain was a common feature, and all this went on for decades right under the noses of the authorities. For the past 60 years, as much as 75 crores have been sacrificed at the alter of the 'flood management works', including the redesign and elevation of 2 culverts and roads, but the pest is still at loose.

Trivandrum with its undulating geography has enough natural systems for drainage, but haphazard development and brainless planning has hit our city in a bad bad way. Of late it seemed as if the situation has improved a bit, but below are the scenes from the heart of Trivandrum after the torrential downpours early this month...

pic courtesy Kerala Kaumudi

pic courtesy Malayala Manorama

The ladies and gentlemen in the above pics appear delighted and amused, may be stirred by the flash, but this is no water theme park to go on a fun ride. Those waters have washed up all the slop, sludge and sullage from the nearby canals and you wouldn't want your dog take a plunge in it.

On quizzed about this early this year, our CM Mr. V. S. Achutanandan urged that Trivandrumites should bear with the floods, and experts from outside the state will be called in for a solution. In the meantime the authorities came up with an ingenious plan to solve all the problems... Shift the Bus and Railway stations to the suburbs!

An official at the Corporation went on record saying that Kochuveli Railway station and Enchakkal Bus stand will solve the ailments caused by flooding in the city! This may just mean the end of the road for the businesses and residences around East Fort and Thampanoor...Those new developments should be planned and developed as per the needs of the neo-town sprouting along the Bypass, and not as a face saving escape from the floods in Trivandrum. The drains and canals must be cleaned and deepened, ensuring speedy drain of stromwater from the city center. The TS Canal, rather called Parvathy Puthanar, the misnomer waterbody cursed into carrying the mire of the city, must essentially be desilted and made navigable. Urgent measures be taken to prevent seepage of sewage and waste products into the Canal, which has the potential to turn Akkulam lake into a filth-swamp.

Parvathy Puthanar

All too easy to tell, but this is where our system beats us... lock, stock and barrell. To carry out the plan of action we need the assistance and co-operations from various Govt Departments like the Corporation, Water Authority, Public Works Dept (PWD), Railways, Telecommunications, Environment Ministry and all those contraptions in the system, which is almost impossible to achieve.

Each dept does things on their own, leaving big chunks of work to others... This happened during the widening of the Amayizhanjan Canal, when the PWD workers encountered a Water Authority pipe line while digging...The digging halted, and never restarts because those pipes were never realigned. A key canal crosses under the railway platforms in Trivandrum Central, but no excavations and cleaning is possible because it may harm the structural integrity of the tracks. TS Canal was desilted and all the sludge poured into the banks, turning the environmentalists and residents against the works. And the succeeding rains washed up all the deposits back into the canal..

Square one!

Monsoon in India

So the problem remains a problem... A Mumbai 2005 scenario may be far fetched to fear about, but these freak floods does make life damp in this aspiring city. All Indian cities, not just Trivandrum, are severely ill-equipped to handle such a common weather pattern. From our experience with mother nature, we must build our cities for human beings..and we are no amphibians...

As of now it is more suited for ducks if it rains...

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The Silicon State

If the ambitious plans by the Govt. of Kerala are turned to reality, then the state will soon turn into the first true Silicon Valley in India.

Too tall a hope, some would say, and even I'm not so freak an optimistic to dream that Kerala would threaten the throne of Bangalore, the undisputed Silicon City of India. Numbers make the fact clear; Bangalore employs 6 lakh software professionals and Kerala just over 25,000...comparing Ferrari with Maruti 800 eh?

Kerala plans to follow the Bangalore success story in its own unique way, by spreading the IT wave all across the state. The state has adopted a unique scheme to augment and disperse its IT development instead of the single-city oriented method adopted by our neighbouring states.

In other words Kerala plans to become the first real Silicon Valley in India, adopting the same pattern of development of the Californian blue chip valley.

Silicon Valley in California encompasses the whole of the northern part of the Santa Clara Valley consisting of as much as 25 cities and counties. With a population of 2.4 million, the Silicon Valley is home to the giants of the hi-tech industries like Apple, eBay, Google, Cisco, Intel et al. It unofficially stretches to about 150km from San Francisco to Gilroy and another 100+ km from San Jose to Union City and beyond. In simple words, a colossal continuous techno-corridor.

Silicon Valley map

This is exactly what Kerala hopes to emulate...a continuous urban conglomerate dotted with hi-tech industrial havens at regular intervals. The hub-and-spoke model, as they call it, envisages mega IT Parks at hub-cities and associated technology parks at neighbouring districts. Arguably a greener model of development; also a balanced and sustainable one, if everything goes according to plan.

And that is one biiiiig 'if'...

There are obvious advantages and drawbacks to such a structure, especially in the IT world. Advantage being that our cities would be relieved from a permanent market-day scenario as in Bangalore or Chennai, where the roads to these Software Parks are chronically plagued by gridlocks. Concentration and load of pressure on the infrastructure could be well dispersed and the cities will be more equipped to catch up with the necessities. And development would reach out to all corners of the state, instead of intensifying in a single city or region.

As per the blueprint, there will be 3 Technology hubs in the state. The Technopark in Trivandrum, Infopark in Cochin and the upcoming Cyberpark in Calicut. The Technopark is already the biggest IT Park in the country in terms of built-up space and employs over 18K professionals. Infopark, around 200km from Technopark has grown pretty quickly in its short tenure so far, and is going to harbour the much touted Smart City in its premises. The Cyberpark in Calicut is still in the womb, and is also located at about 200km from Infopark.

The idea is to develop satellite centres to these 3 IT hubs and allow development to spill into neighboring districts. The Technopark, nestled in 375+ acres of evergreen land is getting a sibling in the name of Technocity, a massive 500 acre park, threatening to outdo the big brother in all aspects. The third IT Park will be developed in Kollam district, 50 km from the Technocity.

Technopark areal pic courtesy Ajay Prasad

Plans are afloat for a Trivandrum- Kollam infrastructural corridor, and these 3 technoparks will form the nucleus of the development. Already the stretch of NH 47 along this Technopark-Technocity corridor is witnessing unprecedented boom and a handful of private technology parks are slated to appear along this corridor.

Inforpark will be the hub of developments across 5 districts in Central Kerala. Apart from the Smart City which promises nearly 1 lakh jobs, there will be 3 more technology parks coming under the Infopark brand; 2 each in Alappuzha district and 1 in Trichur district. The triplets will be at a radius of 75km from Infopark and will be christened Infopark-Cherthala, Infopark-Ambalappuzha and Infopark-Trichur, after the places they will be born.

Smart City and Infopark plan

Ernakulam district which houses the Infopark is already on the overdrive with over a dozen massive IT-related projects up its sleeve. This region is expected to throw up anything over 2.5 lakh blue-chip jobs when the proposed developments are realized.

Cyberpark, the new yet-to-be-born kid on the bloke is all set to regroup the surging hopes of Malabar. This small 68 acre affair has already started making waves in the regional real estate front. Cyberpark will come up along the newly opened NH 17 Calicut Bypass, and the space has already been reserved by IT companies.

This development is a crucial shot in the arm for Calicut city as well, which was forced to take the back seat in Kerala IT development. A major commercial centre and the capital of the Malabar region, Calicut has all the necessary ingredients to become the third software hub of Kerala. Cyberpark, once up and running, will have associated centres in Kannur and Kasargode districts. The Calicut International Airport, IIM-Calicut, NIT-Calicut and the proposed Kannur Airport will add to the advantages of this region.

Malabar area and the proposed IT Parks (click for higher resolution)

Such a model of development enhances the growth of local IT entrepreneurs like UST Global, IBS and co as we could provide easy low cost start-up options for the newbies. Local economy will flourish all around the state. This model could also reduce the attrition levels in the companies as the professionals get increased chance to work near their native places.

Development of infrastructure is quintessential to the success of this style. There should be quick, hassle-free and efficient modes of transport from one end of the state to another. Cities must adapt themselves to the requirements of the young professionals, and Kerala must shed its orthodox and archaic mindset against industrialization. A new work culture must evolve, devoid of hartals, nokkukooli and other menaces which hinder development.

Silicon Valley

It will be interesting to see how this model works out, say in 15 years time. Trivandrum, Cochin and Calicut would've established themselves as IT heartlands but the growth in the associated small centres remains to be seen. But the officials in charge seems confident; it will be slow but sure!

So is this the start of another Kerala model of development?

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Setting the standards- Part I

When the highway between Dubai and Sharjah was expanded in the 1980s, the Japanese town planner in charge designed it to be a 12 laned one; 6 lanes each on either side. He was mocked and ridiculed at that time as it was perceived as a colossal wastage of public penny. Now, when the traffic along the highway has surpassed even the wildest imaginations, choking all the 12 lanes, the residents bow to the astounding foresight of the foreign architect who predicted this scenario over 25 years ago.

The Dubai-Sharjah Road

We've had such visionaries in Kerala too, when it came to the designing of public infrastructure, the likes of Sri. Panampally Govinda Menon and the Travancore Royal family.

When Panampally built the MG Road in Cochin he was lampooned over his decision to provide the road a width of 21 m(70 ft). The road was initially known as the 70 feet road as the populace saw it as an extravagance. But Mr. Menon had the vision of a great leader that even this road would become inadequate in future, and how right he was!

MG Road, Cochin

Same is the case with the Kowdiar Avenue in Trivandrum built by the Travancore Kingdom, which still remains the stand-out road in the state. The 60 years of Democratic regime constructed some so-called highways which pales in comparison with the 'rajaveedhi'.

Kowdiar Avenue, Trivandrum pic courtesy Sudheesh

Sadly the avenues above remain the only instances where the planners have shown some prudence while designing the roads.

Kerala has 2 major highways, the NH 47 (Parassala-Valayar) and the NH 17 (Edappally-Manjeshwaram) apart from the MC Road(Trivandrum-Angamaly) and a couple of hilly roads recently bestowed the Highway status. Out of this a mere 70 km roadway(Chertala-Angamaly) has been widened to accommodate 4 lane traffic, and that too within the Cochin Metropolitan Area. Keralites are chronically subjected to travel on pothole-filled, congested 2 laned 'highways' for the remaining 700+ km...

What a curse!

The standards adopted by Kerala in building roads regularly fall woefully short of basics. For us the customary width for any road is 2 lanes, roughly 10-12 m. A 4 laned road seems to be the superior level, and 6 lanes a profusion!

Taking into account the last few major roads built in Kerala; the Seaport-Airport Road, Trivandrum NH 47 Bypass, Calicut Bypass, Nedumbassry Airport Road(from NH 47), all are ordinary 2 laned ones. Of this the Athani-Nedumbassery Road connecting the Airport saw a unique episode of land being returned back to the owners after being acquired for a 6 laned carriageway! Dont ask why...

The Seaport-Airport Road

Now they are planning to build an Aerotropolis around the Cochin Airport...The hotels, apartments, shopping centres, golf course and all other luxuries are under construction. So the plan seems to be to finish building all these and then think about the road...

That's the Kerala model of development..reverse technique. By the time they 'plan' to develop this road to 'international' standards( meaning 4 lanes), the land development would be completed, land values would've shot up in geometrical proportions, there would be court cases, survey & marking procedures (using the techniques invented by Egyptians for their Pyramids), eternal relaying of cables and posts by KSEB, protests, action forces and whatever you could think of. End result: The road never gets widened.

Just for kicks: The Govt is still 'developing' the 3 km long Sahodaran Ayyapan Road in Cochin, which commenced in 1996.

Acquisition of land is the biggest headache for planners when it comes to road development. The density of population, continuous urban stretches, astronomical property prices all create incessant turbulence to acquisition. The authorities fail to encounter this problem over and over again by repeating the same mistakes. The Trivandrum Road Development works present another example.

42 km of roads in the capital is being widened and new corridors created. The plan appears good but again falls worryingly short of basic standards. The widest road is the MG Road, planned to accommodate 6 lane traffic at 28m edge-to-edge. This includes 2.5m wide footpath on either sides and a road divider, which essentially shortens the carriageway to 24m. Appears all right, but considering that this will be the arterial avenue and one lane each would be sacrificed for parking, even this road seems inadequate.

The expanded MG Road at Palayam. pic courtesy Ajay

Even more worrying is the way the link roads have been planned connecting the evolving urban complex along the bypass. The Poonthi Road which connects Kumarapuram to Bypass and then to Kochuveli Railway Terminal is a plain 2 laned road! (Officially 3 laned...) This could've been easily converted to a 32m wide 6 laned avenue as it didn't have built-up areas except for a few stretches. There is no doubt that this development is going to backfire within the next 4-5 years. Imagine how much effort will it take to expand this road again by eviction and demolition...

Another link to the Bypass, the Ulloor-Akkulam Road is expanded to 16 m...I'm not sure about the width this road will have along the International Convention Centre premises, but given the 'sense' of our planners I see no more than an ordinary 4 lane carriageway through this future artery for Trivandrum.

Trivandrum Bypass Road

The Trivandrum Bypass, slated for expansion, seems to adopt some of the necessary standards, thankfully. It is understood that the architecture for the Bypass encompasses service and emergency lanes on both sides, a 10 lane toll plaza and exclusive service roads when the development is complete. On second thoughts, developing it into a 6-8 laner right away would alleviate many miseries in the future. A transhipment port, international tourist destination, an Int'l Airport, huge Railhead, India's largest Technopark, various Industrial Parks and a gigantic Technocity are all lined up along the 30+ km from Kovalam to Pallipuram! Not to mention the countless residential & commercial developments.

Its a shame that the authorities can't think beyond this 16m and 20 m wide 4 lane roads. We must learn from the scenario in Bangalore, like in Airport Road and Hosur Road which has a carriageway of nothing more than 15m (footpaths on either sides make it approximately 28m). Hosur Road has service lanes in patches, but too inadequate for a city aspiring to be a global metropolis...Chennai has double the vehicular population of Bangalore but isn't as congested as the latter, as it harbours wider roads. Planners of Hyderabad needs a pat on the back as they seem to have set a basic standard of 24-32m for all new major roads under development. So where does it leave Trivandrum?

Hosur Road, Bangalore

There are people arguing that the width is more than enough for Kerala cities as it is mostly occupied by mopeds, bikes and rickshaws. Well, they must've heard the TATA Motors' plan to replace them all with their Nano...If the scenario is bleak now, it will be a total disaster tomorrow!

TATA Nano!

In order to develop into a noteworthy city good, wide roads are indispensable. Trivandrum and rest of Kerala must radically revamp the standards they have set for roads. Having a 16m wide avenue and building malls, hotels, apartments, hospitals and offices all along it would eventually grind down the place to a slum. Cochin plans to transform into another Singapore and Trivandrum dreams about emulating the success of Bangalore, well if we cant go beyond 4 lanes and 16m roads then we may wake up soon from the dreamzzz...

Expanding the roads are not the only solution to the apparent eternal gridlock we are going to face in the future. Rejuvenating the screwed up Expressway project and constructing new channels for specific traffic is radical to the citizens of Kerala. Will continue here in Part II.

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Sunrise at Vizhinjam

Now before I start writing up some crap about Vizhinjam, I've an honest confession: I have as good knowledge about seaports, harbours and their technicalities as a fisherman would have about software..

But that doesn't dampen my enthusiasm to find out more about why this place 'Vizhinjam' , 16km southwest of Trivandrum would rewrite the horoscope of Kerala Capital, and who knows , the whole nation as a fact.

The concept layout

You would've nudged into very few optimistic souls even in Trivandrum if you spoke about 'Vizhinjam', a few years back...At a time when Vizhinjam featured only on election manifestos once every 5 years and appeared as single column news somewhere inside regional newspapers.

But how things have changed, and quick!!

Vizhinjam International Container Transshipment Terminal(VICTT) or simply the Vizhinjam Seaport (as we will call here) has grown up from a regional patriotic's dream to a megaproject enticing the attention of the nation. The project worth 8000crore INR is all set to become a reality with the Hyderabad based Lanco Infrastructures awarded the contract to own the pie.

The Project

Ok, its simple...Vizhinjam is envisaged as a Transshipment Terminal, meaning a port where you transfer the containers to land. It was a surprise to me to learn that majority of containers to India were actually transshipped from Colombo and Singapore as

Vizhinjam port plan

Indian ports didn't have enough draft to sustain big vessel loads. So Vizhinjam would be sharing its job with JNPT, Mumbai(the other major container terminal in India) and Vallarpadam, Cochin, but will be possessing some serious advantages over both in terms of handling capacity, depth of water both in the channel and at berth and low Operational & Maintenance costs r/t dredging.

The plan is to reclaim nearly 600 acres from the sea to build the breakwater and the necessary port facilities. So that erases the need for population displacement, a thorn in many project plans.

Connectivity isn't going to be a big headache as well. The NH 47 Bypass passes just 2km from the project site, and a flyover is planned from Mukkola Jn, Kovalam to Vizhinjam site. A rail link to Balaramapuram, 8 km away on the Trivandrum-Kanyakumari broadguage line is also envisaged.

Vizhinjam Port site (Pic courtesy Ajay Prasad)

The capacity of the port is deemed at 6.5 million TEU/ year. A TEU or 20 foot equivalent unit is the size of a standard container(20ft X 8ft), so 6.5 million is a handsome figure when you find out that the whole of India handles only 4.6 million TEU an year! Compare with Shanghai, where the number is 5.5 m TEU or Singapore, the numero uno with a staggering 23.2m TEU!! Jeez...

So numbers aside, if Vizhinjam possessed all these potential then why the heck did it take 60 odd years to draw attention to itself??

The History

Vizhinjam dream dates back to pre-democracy era. The erstwhile Travancore Royals nourished plans to build a 6 km channel (something like Seuz channel perhaps) connecting the Arabian Sea to Vellayani lake, thereby turning their kingdom into a port city. Unfortunately, the advent of democracy and the resulting shift of loyalty sealed the fate of this vision. For over 50 years the port project remained in paper, thanks to the lack of interest of regional politicians and active lobbying of adjacent ports in & outside the state.

To be honest, in a democratic set up 'lobbying' is not an obscene word, the alignment of interests are often in conjecture with the party on the seat of power. But often such regional lobbying ends up with the State as a casualty. The potential of this jewel of a harbour evaded the blind (or closed) eyes of the decision makers for a
variety of reasons. The powerful business houses of Central Kerala, which relies on the growth of Cochin Harbour feared a plunge if Vizhinjam materialized. The neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu sprung up plans to develop a harbour on the same lines just a few nautical miles south of Vizhinjam, at Kolachel. With a mangle-like grip at the Centre, and with the Ministry of Shipping in its pocket, the Tamil Ealam ministers projected a constant threat for the project. Worse was the local resistance against it, with the Port project apparently threatening to shake the foundations of the thriving tourism and fishing industries in Kovalam. And to crown it all, the lackluster attitude of the leaders, media and public towards the project made it a non-starter.

But not for the will and determination of some live wires, Vizhinjam would almost certainly have remained as such. When this port becomes a reality, one person needs a
special hug, for fighting a lone battle against all odds to keep this project alive. An old Communist arrogant from Kannur, Mr. M.V. Raghavan. It was heartening to see MVR toiling for Vizhinjam with his mearge resources, when other Trivandrum born politicians were sleeping on top of it. His works were followed up by Mr. M. Vijayakumar, who presently hold the Ports & Harbour portfolio. The toughest job, however, was done by a group of enthusiasts named Trivandrum Development Front(TDF) , Janapaksham and co. They did the groundbreaking job of optimizing public knowledge about Vizhinjam, and gathering local support, absolutely essential for any project of such magnitude and character in Kerala.

The media, at last got involved in the project, and guess what; in a positive way!!(Whew...) Accolades to Kerala Kaumudi in particular and Asianet, who created an aura around the project. Vizhinjam has featured on National and Int'l media and now its upto the GoK to make sure the sleeping giant remains awake...and goes to work.

A banner by TDF

The Govt has been careful in evaluating the bids submitted by the International Consortium as it would be unpardonable to allow history to repeat itself. In the 90s the tender was awarded purposely to a clueless and unlisted Kumar Group just to sabotage the project. Last time when everything came through, the Chinese partners of the successful Zoom Builders happened to be the hoodoo.

The ???s

A few reservations raised about the project would be the agonizingly poor industrial background of Trivandrum. SEZ's and manufacturing based industries need to flourish in and around Trivandrum. Even in Cochin, 90% 0f the goods handled are petroleum products to and from the refinery. The cost of transferring empty containers back to the base port will be same as that of shipping them here, and so competition would become tough for Vizhinjam in spite of all the God-given blessings.

What Vizhinjam must take into its head is that there is a big difference between a Harbour and a Port...Some of the finest harbours in the world seldom see a ship, whereas the busiest Ports are the ones associated with great industrial cities..So Vizhinjam will have some homework and backing up to do!

Rotterdam Harbour

Again as a fair point, Tirunelveli SEZ is just at the backyard of our Ghats and Trivandrum has always been a sister city for them. And the proposed shipbuilding yard on the West Coast of India, if commissioned in Poovar, would be a shot in the arm as well.

It remains to be seen as to how the beach & backwater tourism would react to a shouldering Commercial harbour. Kovalam is well known globally, so lets hope the charm prevails.. There has been a few concerns for the resorts as their sea-view would be eclipsed by the port. Oil spillage and pollution associated with hulk-vessels may rob Kovalam of its blue pristine waters.

But the picture below has signs of an impending upside to these worries... The cruise ship

Cruise ship at Vizhinjam (pic courtesy Ajay Prasad)

seen decked here in the existing fishing harbour could turn the bane to boon for the hospitality industry! The tourism circles of Trivandrum could take a headleap if Kovalam can promote itself as a Cruise destination, courtesy Vizhinjam...

Still I would like to see Vizhinjam develop as how it is planned to be, and there would be a chill of disappointment if these shores are compared to Seychelles instead of Singapore...

The Status

Vizhinjam bids have been awarded to Hyderabad-based Lanco Infratech Limited's consortium with Pembinan Radzai Sdn Bhd (PRSB), Malaysia. Nearly 2400 crores will be pumped in for the first phase which would be ready for action by 2013. The remaining 3 phases would be completed in a phased manner, rocketing the investment to over 8000 crores, making it the single largest infrastructure project in Kerala.

The Lanco consortia would operate the terminal for 33 years, and then it would become the jewel in Kerala Govt's assets...And of course by that time, hopefully, Trivandrum would feature in the port-of-call lists of the colossal Emma Maersk, TI Oceania or the elegant Queen Mary II...



Look, my dreams have started to take wings as well!

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