THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the financial year coming to a close and the local body elections around the corner, efforts are afoot to complete the long-pending women-friendly corridor project. It proposes safe travel by connecting two premier women-only educational institutions in the city, the Government College for Women and Cotton Hill Girls High School. A hi-tech bus shelter attached to a first-of-its-kind lactation kiosk is proposed to be set up at Bakery Junction as part of the initiative.
Deputy Mayor Rakhi Ravikumar said hundreds of women and children would be able to walk along the busy Cotton Hill-Vazhuthacaud-Women’s College corridor safely. “The completion of the project is a top priority for the civic body. There have been multiple hurdles in the execution because of which a few components had to be shelved. With the corridor almost nearing completion, we will be able to officially inaugurate it in the first week of April,” said Rakhi.
Initially, the plan was to set up a covered pathway along the corridor with handrailings. “However, owing to protests from traders, who were apprehensive of loosing their business, we had to drop the plan. The pathway will have roof only in some areas,” said Rakhi. The project was a crucial part of the Corporation budget over the past two years. Many hurdles, including delay in getting No Objection Certificate from PWD, protest from traders adversely delayed its implementation.
“The heavy traffic flow on this route puts pedestrians at the receiving end. Around 5,000 children study at the Cotton Hill High School, the designated pathway with the newly installed handrailings will ensure their safety,” said Rakhi. The authorities are planning to install CCTVs along the stretch. “Discussions are ongoing in this regard,” added the Deputy Mayor. According to officials, the proposed hi-tech bus shelter at Bakery Junction and Vazhuthacaud will have toilet facilities and a lactation kiosk.The project also includes a plan to come up with wall art along the pathway which would display the stories of important women figures from the state.