Thiruvananthapuram: People who live near the Mukkola-Karode stretch are planning an agitation to protest the delay from the part of National Highway Authority of India NHAI ) to complete construction of a vehicular overpass at Vengapotta Residents allege that NHAI was showing laxity in connecting the bridge with the road, causing hardships to the commuters.“The construction of the bridge has been mostly completed over a year ago. Had the NHAI completed works to connect the bridge to the road on either side, it would have been a great help to the local people,” said V Sudhakaran, chairperson of Kazhakoottam-Karode national highway action council.The construction of the bridge which began in June 2016 was almost completed by June 2017. However, even after a year, no steps were being taken to connect the bridge and open the road for traffic, said Sudhakaran.“The road used to be a bus route. The NHAI had constructed a service road for the residents. However, it is non-motorable, especially for two-wheelers. Rain has worsened the situation,” added Sudhakaran.A recent meeting of action council, attended by its patron and former MLA Jameela Prakasham, decided to launch an agitation.Sudhakaran said that the date of agitation will be finalized later. “We are going to appraise district collector about our situation. The details of agitation will be formalized only after that,” he said.Meanwhile, sources in NHAI said that they could open roads only after completion of works. “It is a greenfield road. The entire road is being constructed along a new stretch. To ensure the safety of commuters, we could allow traffic only after completion of works,” sources said.

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