THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government has taken over the disputed land which was earlier earmarked for the construction of a bus terminal near Enchakkal, based on a court order. The High Court had earlier rejected the case filed against the taking over of 1.48 acres of land.
The State Government had earmarked 5.80 acres of land here for the construction of a bus terminal for long distance buses. As part of this, the Government had acquired 4.32 acres of land and a private land owner had filed a case against acquiring the remaining land.
However, the High Court rejected the petition against this following which the district administration and the KSRTC authorities decided to take over the land. Though the authorities had asked the land owner to vacate the place within 48 hours, the land owner failed to do so. As a result, on Monday, the district administration and KSRTC officials reached the site and took over the custody of the property.
It was in 2004 that the then state government had decided to construct a modern bus terminal at Enchakkal for shifting the long distance buses’ terminal from Thampanoor as part of reducing the traffic congestion in the city.
But, following the dispute over the acquisition of land, the authorities could not commence the construction of the bus terminal even after five years.
The Thiruvananthapuram Development Authority (TRIDA) was entrusted with the responsibility of constructing the bus terminal for the KSRTC. As per the proposal, all the super class services operated using deluxe and Volvo buses and other long-distance buses of the Corporation were expected to operate from the proposed terminal at Enchakkal.
The main idea behind the construction of the proposed new terminal was to reduce the congestion in the city by diverting long-distance buses through the Kazhakkoottam-Kovalam NH Bypass to Enchakkal.
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