THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After years of negligence, the Kalabhavan Mani road in the capital Thiruvananthapuram will be opened to the public on August 20. Minister P A Mohamed Riyas said the new road will be an Onam gift to the people of the city.

For many years, the road was inoperational with the common people bearing the pain. The road abridges Vazhuthacaud and Panavila and is a major route for people heading towards Thampanoor. The multitudes of road works have only contributed the road to turning into a guttered mess. Accidents turned common on the road that was erstwhile filled with potholes and other strewn slopes. Due to the inaccessibility of the road, people used to take a deviation towards Bakery junction, only to see a resultant beeline traffic swarming up.

According to the minister, the road was entirely demolished for building a duct. However, the contractor showed negligence and all attempts to resolve the issue went in vain. The government thus had to force remove the previous contractor from work, also withholding the deposits. A new tender was called and currently, Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS) has been given the contract for the work.

The road is part of the government's smart city project and the minister shared hope that the reintroduction of the road will hereby end all quibbles surrounding traffic congestion in the area.