KURA Chief Corporate Communication Officer John Cheboi addressing members of the public at Kiang'ombe Social Hall together with Thika Town MP Eng. Patrick Wainaina. [Photo|Facebook]About a dozen buildings along Oloitiptip road (BAT-Kiganjo) could be demolished in a new construction plan earmarked to free Thika town from traffic congestion.The properties to be affected are in Makongeni and Kiganjo, especially near the Kamenu Makongeni Stage.Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) Chief Corporate Communication Officer John Cheboi said that any construction on road corridors will be marked and the owner asked to give way for road construction.“KURA will not compensate anyone who has encroached on road reserves. Once we give these people a formal notice to vacate, we do not expect them to delay the road construction otherwise the government will forcefully pull down these buildings at their cost,” said Cheboi on Tuesday at Kiang'ombe, Thika.Cheboi noted that the bypass had put into consideration all road users and upon completion, it will address the decade-old traffic menace in Thika.“The construction of these roads will include a non-motorised cycle lane, pedestrian footpaths, drainage and street lighting in a bid to cater for all the road users,” he said.The Chairperson of the 800 member Thika Mwalimu Housing Sacco Readeani Ndaani had sought clarification from KURA on the exact route-map as part of the original survey indicated that the current BAT-Kiganjo road had been changed to pass through their 100-acre parcel of land.“We bought this land in 1998 and according to the map in Survey of Kenya, this road cuts through our land. We are, therefore, requesting you to avoid the same mistake and relocate the road where it is supposed to be as per the map,” said Ndaani.Ndaani added that a lot of the buildings along that road had been built on the road reserve, forcing the contractor who did the current road to push it about 20 metres to the East.
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