Commuters seethe with anger as CSML fails to complete renovation of Vyttila Mobility Hub

Renovation works at Vyttila Mobility Hub delayed, leaving commuters, drivers & pedestrians seething with anger.

The tardy pace of renovation works being carried out by Cochin Smart Mission Ltd. (CSML) in Vyttila Mobility Hub (VMH) and the subsequent back-breaking ride has left bus, metro and ferry commuters seething with anger.

Same is the case with hundreds of bus crew, auto drivers, motorists and pedestrians who use the premises to skip the congested Vyttila Junction.

Drivers of buses and autorickshaws which operate from the inter-modal hub and pay a fee for using the same spoke of how their pleas to VMH Society authorities and other agencies to prevail on CSML and its contractor to complete the renovation works, fell on deaf ears. Pointing to idling construction equipment, they said workers were expected to relay the pair of severely-damaged paver-block carriageways many months ago.

“But none of them was seen here during the past many weeks. This inordinate delay has resulted in commuters, drivers and motorists having a nightmarish time, having to endure an agonising ride and also bear with dust emanating from the premises whenever vehicles passed by. Then there is the looming risk of being bitten by snakes and dogs that roam around the ill-maintained, weed infested and ill-lit premises,” they said.

The situation is such that accidents involving passengers is becoming common, thanks to little effort being made to complete the renovation work and to streamline the movement of buses and other vehicles. A bus passenger was injured in one such accident on Sunday, said an employee of VMHS. This chaotic situation has in turn led to frequent squabbles among bus crew, as was witnessed at the entry to the hub premises on Monday.

Aneesh Ravindran, a sales executive from Thiruvalla spoke of how he nearly fell from his motorbike a month ago, due to severe undulations on the carriageway within the hub premises.