Alappuzha: The ongoing construction of the National Highway is causing increasing trouble for residents living near the Bypass Road here.

The current phase of work involves raising nearly a one-kilometre stretch of the road, from Kalappura West on the northern end of the Bypass to the Kommadi Junction, by filling it with gravel. This has triggered serious inconvenience for the public. 

Adding to their woes, traffic along the stretch was disrupted for nearly half an hour on Thursday morning in the Poonkavu area after a JCB brought in for soil-levelling developed a technical snag. Following the breakdown, hundreds of vehicles were stranded bumper-to-bumper from Poonkavu Junction to Kommadi and further up to Pathirappally. Although many two-wheelers took diversions through pocket roads, it still took nearly half an hour for traffic on the National Highway to clear.

Meanwhile, authorities dumped gravel along the Bypass from Kalappura to Kommadi without prior warning late Wednesday night and again on Thursday morning. An earthmover was also deployed to dismantle the drainage channel here and fill it completely with gravel.

A portion of the Muthalappozhi canal, through which water was being routed to prevent waterlogging in Kalappura and Arattuvazhi regions, was partially filled with gravel as well. All access roads leading from the National Highway to the interior areas too have been blocked by mounds of gravel unloaded at their entry points. A culvert constructed earlier to divert runoff water was also damaged in the process.

Locals pointed out that with the four-lane road construction, nearly 200 houses on both sides of the road from Kalappura to Kommadi, as well as homes located in the interior regions, along with several roads and footpaths, are likely to be submerged during the rainy season.

C V Geethu of Chakkalakkal, a public activist in Kalappura, said students from Mangalam, Kanjiramchira, Thumpoli, Kalappura, Arattuvazhi and surrounding areas, as well as devotees visiting the Kalappura temple, use this route daily, crossing the road near the Sreenarayana Guru Mandiram. “Once the four-lane road becomes operational, crossing the road here will become impossible. The only underpass in the region is at Kommadi Junction. An overbridge is essential to ease the travel hardships faced by thousands of residents and employees working in the area. The local community has already raised this concern,” she said.