Annex 7.2

Public Consultation, Link 68: – Pappinissery Road

The Pilathara-Pappinissery road is a bypass to the NH-17. It starts at the filling station junction at Pilathara on the NH-17 and ends at the bridge at Pappinissery on the NH-17. The local people, in a meeting at the junction, mentioned that there was a move to develop the road by the Naval Academy. Most of the people along the roadside were opposed to the project because they would lose their property.

The survey team attempted to conduct another meeting at Pappinissery at the end of the road, but the local people evinced little interest in it. Most of the affected private properties along this road comprised compound walls and agricultural or vacant land. The affected structures had commercial establishments. The agricultural land owners were unreachable for a meeting, as nobody knew who owned the affected plots and where they lived.

The traders at Pappinissery mentioned that rather than widening, it was necessary to maintain the exiting road. The road condition is particularly vulnerable because it is used mainly by the long-distance goods carriers. On questioning why they do not use the NH-17, some of the drivers mentioned that they save on the length and escape the heavy traffic on the NH-17 by using this road.

A few comments on the upgrading programme of the KSTP was received from a PAP, Lt. Col. P.K. Thampan Nambiar of Army House, Kowapuram, P.O. District. These are:

- No acquisition of land or structure should be done, as no alternate land is available in the vicinity of the affected property for rehabilitation. - The existing structures by the roadside are costly to be demolished.

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