District Collector N.S.K. Umesh has proposed that the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) ready a transport master plan for Ernakulam for 2035 with the cooperation of all stakeholders in order to decongest the city and its immediate suburbs.
Inaugurating a stakeholders’ meeting organised by NATPAC here on Wednesday to address transportation issues and challenges in central Kerala, he emphasised the development of Kochi city as a model for integrating multiple modes of public transport.
K.P. Sudheer, executive vice president of the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment and director in charge of NATPAC, presided over the meeting. Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) Chairman K. Chandran Pillai, who was the chief guest, said Kochi was witnessing high urbanisation and urged NATPAC to take initiative to develop public transportation, with focus on smart technologies.
Officials of the Kochi Corporation, National Highways Authority of India, Cochin International Airport Limited, Kochi Metro Rail Limited, Kochi Water Metro, police, GCDA, Goshree Islands Development Authority, Cochin University of Science and Technology, School of Communication and Management Studies, Federal Institute of Science and Technology, District Town Planning department, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, and Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation and NGOs raised their concerns and also insights to tackle transportation challenges in central Kerala.
Former NATPAC director Samson Mathew, Shaheem S., who heads its transportation planning division; B. Anish Kini, scientist in charge of the agency’s Ernakulam regional office; V.S. Sanjay Kumar, head, traffic engineering and safety division; Wilson K.C., scientist in charge of highway engineering division; and M.S. Sharan, scientist in charge of water transport division, were among those who spoke.
