Athirappilly-Sholayar-Valparai-Chinnar-Munnar Road TripTuesday, August 4, 2015 My father-in-law was home for a week and he along with us wanted to meet my uncle who is in Pollachi. Me and my wife hadn't been to his place after marriage, which is considered to be a custom. Straight away I made plans to try the new route which i had not been through. In addition to that, we also planned to go Munnar from there and make it an extended 2 day trip. So the route was : Tripunithrua -> Ezhattumugham -> Athirappilly -> Sholayar ->Valpparai -> Aliyar -> Pollachi -> Udumalpett -> Chinnar -> Eravikulam -> Munnar -> Tripunithura This is probably the best route in South India. 2 states and 4 main types of vegetations. In fact I guess Chinnar it self had 6 sub vegetations. We were off to see tall trees, hence we kept off from the tall buildings of the city and took the western route via Ezhattumugham to Athirappilly.
We started from Athirappilly by around 3, reached the checkpost in another 15 minutes. And then, its probably only in 5 minutes that you could see a vehicle coming opposite you. Before reaching Sholayar, I stopped in a few placed to record a few ambiences (Will post them after editing). We stopped near the Sholayar valve house.   Started driving again. As we approached the border we started to feel hungry. When we reached the check post, I asked an officer there as to where I could get some food. He said "There are a few hotels nearby but all places are shut to express condolances to APJ Abdul Kalam who died the previous." Even though we had to stay hungry till Pollachi, we never felt that, as we enjoyed the whole stretch. The 40 hair-pin bends (probably the highest number after Kolli Hills) overlooking the Aliyar Reservoir extremely beautiful. As it was almost dark, we didnt stop by the monkey falls.
The change from here to the green Kerala was quite interesting
Having seen an evergreen forest, a semi deciduous, tea plantations, reservoirs, dams and waterfalls on the previous day, Munnar pretty much had nothing new to serve. But still, we did enjoy the place. Had some good time there and headed back home by 7.
Kochi - Inner Ring Road PlanSunday, August 2, 2015 Kochi is fast growing metropolitan. Say, a family who wishes to go from Thoppumpady to Lulu Mall via car either needs to go through the city or go Kundannoor and take the current Bypass road to Edappally. Imagine you wish to travel to Kakkanad from Thevara during the evening peak hour, the traffic from Petta to Irumbanam could be a real pain. It must have been pretty evident from my post "My metro rail plan for Kochi" as to how much I dream of a better Kochi, with better roads, and better connectivity. On the same lines I have developed a plan for a ring road not really around the city, so lets call it an inner ring road. The route Kundannur - Thevara Road >>All roads in black are existing roads in which some are 4 lane whereas some are not. All roads need to be converted into 4 lane roads. All marked in red are addition constructions. Bridge (From Willingdon to Vallarpadam) A bridge from Willingdon to Vallarppadam would be a real boon to people who live in Thevara, Fort Kochi, Thoopumpady etc to reach Ernakulam. The bridge along with proposed road will definitely help container trucks to reach the Container terminal faster. In fact one of many reasons why the Container terminal is at a loss is the road connectivity to it. A bridge on the lines of the Mumbai Sea-Link, how beautiful would it be for the Kochi Skyline? Imagine!
Road Link (From Kalamassery to HMT) This road should be a continuation of the ICT(Container terminal Road) from Kalamassery. There are few houses in the area. But a small strip of aqusition for a better cause would not be bad. An underground road is also an option i guess. Road Link (From Karingachira till Andhakara Canal) Thats pretty much a barren land so land acquisition is not a big deal. Bridge above Andhakara Kanal This in fact is not a new idea. This was actually an official plan once back in 2010. In fact, this area is so crowded that, none of the existing roads can be widened. If this turns true, a major chunk of the traffic blocks in Tripunithura can be avoided. All tanker lorries from the petroleum companies can reach Kundannoor without even touching Tripunithura town. All traffic towards Kottayam can routed via Petta onto this road. The interactive map of the inner ring road is proposed below. If this can be done, Kochi can be proud of a 47 kilometer long Inner Ring Road. Hopeful Kochiite [Mapid = m8vPQNgEJb]
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Nikhil Varma
Sound Design - Voice Over - Greater Kochi - Film Buff - Cricket - Travel - Not a strict ideologist. |
