more-in The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will shut down its operations in Kozhikode on June 30. The services of three contract staff, including Deputy Chief Engineer K. Gopalakrishnan, will be terminated while the remaining four personnel will be relocated to the DMRC office in Kochi and the railways. The DMRC has been functioning at Hilite Business Park on the Kozhikode Bypass since October 2014, and it is paying a rent of ?10 lakh per month. Initially, a project office for the implementation of the proposed Kozhikode Light Metro was opened at Chalappuram in 2012. “The purpose of setting up the office is over with the commissioning of the Panniyankara rail overbridge,” an official said. The T-shape overbridge with provision for proceeding from Payyanakkal to Kozhikode, and Meenchanda sides was constructed in connection with the proposed ?2,500-crore Light Metro project. The DMRC had also been assigned the task of preparing the feasibility report of the proposed Nilambur-Nanjangud and Thalassery-Mysuru railway line. It had given a report on the Thalasserry-Mysuru railway line with negative recommendations. In the case of the Nilambur-Nanjangud line, the government had not released funds for preparing the detailed project report citing objections from the Karnataka government. Besides, officials said that the future of the proposed Light Metro project hanged in the balance. The government had to get the clearance from the Public Investment Board (PIB) of the Centre. Multiple steps have to be taken, including appointing consultants, before the project could really take off. The DMRC is also unsure whether it would get the project. As of now, a survey has been conducted for the project under the supervision of the Deputy Collector for the construction of metro stations. The land required for the project is 10.05 hectares which include 1.5 hectares in private possession. If executed as scheduled, the project will come to fruition by 2021. The proposed metro covered a distance of 13.30 km from Meenchanda to Kozhikode Medical College with 14 stations.

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