Medians below Kochi metro viaduct to be redeveloped

Vertical gardens to be readied on metro pillars

Medians beneath the Kochi Metro viaduct will come alive with shoe flower plants. A contractor has been vested with their upkeep. The same contractor has been tasked with readying vertical gardens on metro pillars.

Most medians have been ill-maintained or have remained covered with weeds and debris, five years since the metro was commissioned. According to the three-year agreement, the contractor can fix a feasible sponsorship fee for keeping advertisement boards in the medians. In return, the contractor will have to plant shoe flower saplings and maintain and water them, metro sources said.

Besides ensuring green cover beneath the 25-km metro corridor, the plants are expected to help reduce the intensity of headlights of vehicles, thus augmenting road safety.

Under an initiative rolled out in 2020, firms could sponsor medians by paying ₹4,000 per median to Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL). “As many as 70 firms came forward and planted saplings and lawns, but only a few maintained them. This prompted us to draw up the new plan. Similarly, it was decided to entrust the new contractor with the task of readying vertical gardens with the help of sponsors. This was because KMRL found it tough to earmark funds for gardens, which needed substantial investment on capital and maintenance,” the sources added.

It resulted in KMRL being unable to ready a vertical garden every six metro pillars, as was the original plan. The few vertical gardens at metro stations are not in optimal condition either.

The development has not been well received by firms, which used to go the extra mile and maintain medians that they had sponsored. “The new measure has resulted in many of us having to uproot the plants that we nurtured with much care,” said one of them.