Expedite steps to tackle traffic snarls on ghat road, says action committee

KALPETTA

Hundreds of people under the aegis of the Wayanad Ghat Road Bypass Action Committee took out a march and staged a dharna in front of the Wayanad collectorate here on Tuesday raising a slew of demands, including steps to tackle traffic hold-ups and accidents in the Thamarassery ghat section of the road on the Kozhikode-Kollegal national highway 766.

V.K. Husainkutty, president of the committee, said traffic hold-ups continued to be a cause for concern for travellers on Ghat road linking Kozhikode with Wayanad, especially on holidays.

The inflow of tourists to Wayanad on holidays, coupled with unrestricted movement of heavy granite-laden trucks from granite quarries in Kozhikode to Wayanad, leads to hours-long snarls on the busy route that also connects Kerala with Karnataka, Mr. Husainkutty said.

Moreover, the number of vehicles from neighbouring States, including Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, considerably goes up during the Sabarimala pilgrimage season, he added.

Hence the district administration should expedite steps to regulate the movement of granite-laden trucks during busy hours to tackle congestion on road, he added.

The protesters also demanded the construction of an alternative road from Chippilithodu to Thalipuzha to decongest the ghat road section and completion of renovation works of on NH 766. T. Siddique, MLA, inaugurated the dharna.