Heritage street project at Rs 10cr to kick off on Kerala Piravi day

Thiruvananthapuram: State tourism department has decided to complete the first phase of

Chalai heritage street

project in four months’ time. The inauguration of works is slated for November 1 and the first phase will witness completion of vegetable market, amenity centre and the main entrance.

A decision on this ambitious project of the state tourism department, which is estimated at Rs 10 crore, was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran here on Wednesday. The minister will inaugurate the works at a function to be held at 8.30am on ‘Kerala Piravi Dinam’ (November 1).

The meeting decided to entrust a coordination committee comprising secretaries of government departments concerned with the monitoring of the project’s progress. Ahead of this, an action document will be prepared to coordinate measures to be initiated by each department, the meeting decided.

This tourism heritage project in the capital city will be implemented alongside the Smart City project. The state government has already sanctioned Rs 10 crore for the project which will establish a heritage street from East Fort to Killippalam.

“The state tourism department will also give a new face to Aryasala Junction under this heritage development project,” the minister said at the meeting.

The

Chalai

heritage street will have painted walls depicting the history of erstwhile kingdom of Travancore and evoking nostalgic memories surrounding Chalai Street. It will also have a roofed footpath and benches.

An entrance modelled on East Fort will be erected at the entry point to Chalai Street opposite to Gandhi Park. Another entrance will be erected for those coming from the Killippalam side. Advertisement boards, which will have an emblem of the heritage street on them, will make shops in the street more attractive.

At Aryasala Junction, a statue of Raja Kesavadas, the diwan who modernized the street, will be erected. The junction will also undergo other beautification works without hampering its traditional characteristics.

The street will not be marred by overhead electricity lines and other cables, as everything will be underground. A comprehensive waste management system for the street will be implemented with the help of Suchitwa Mission, city corporation and Trivandrum Development Authority.

There will also be restrictions in place for vehicular movement on the street, to ensure hassle-free movement for public and tourists. Currently, traffic congestions and encroachment on the street by traders are posing severe difficulty for public to do shopping or even walk around. “We hope the heritage street project, once implemented, will solve the crisis now being faced by traders here due to the extreme congestion,” the minister pointed out.


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