Palakkad: The Palakkad municipality has drawn up plans for a new bypass linking the Stadium Bypass to Court Road, a project that hinges on land acquisition and the release of a portion of the District Hospital premises.

The project involves widening and rebuilding the existing road via Palayapetta and the District Hospital in coordination with the district panchayat and the Health Department. Following a request by the civic body, the District Collector has convened a meeting of the departments concerned on Friday, municipal chairman P Smithesh said.

“The project will require some land belonging to the District Hospital. The meeting has been called to discuss the steps to be taken in this regard,” he said.

Four cents to be acquired
A concrete road already connects Stadium Bypass to Palayapetta. However, four cents of land must be acquired to extend the road to the District Hospital road. Discussions and steps to acquire this land are under way.

Hospital land needed
Once the road from Palayapetta is connected to the District Hospital road, land on the hospital’s northern side will be needed to widen the remaining stretch. The municipality has already held discussions with the district panchayat in this regard and submitted a memorandum to Minister K Muraleedharan.

The land can be handed over once the Health Department and the district panchayat give their consent, subject to government approval. Once completed, the project will give Palakkad another bypass and improve access to the District Hospital and the District Hospital for Women and Children.

The existing road between the two hospitals can then be reserved for hospital-related traffic, while the new bypass will serve as an additional access route to both institutions.