CM promises time-bound completion of tunnel road project connecting Wayanad and Kozhikode districts

CM Pinarayi Vijayan announces ₹2,334-cr tunnel road project on Anakkampoyil-Kalladi-Meppadi route, ₹6,700-cr package for overall development of district. Jain circle, carbon-neutral coffee park, ropeway project to Wayanad to be materialised. Night traffic ban on NH 766 to be discussed with Karnataka.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the proposed four-lane tunnel road project on the Anakkampoyil-Kalladi-Meppadi route, an alternative for busy Thamarassery ghat road that connects Kozhikode and Wayanad districts, will be materialised in a time-bound manner.

Speaking after inaugurating the Navakerala Sadas here on Thursday, Mr. Vijayan said the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) would fund the project and Konkan Railway Corporation Limited had been directed to draft a blueprint for the ₹2,334-crore worth project.

A package of ₹6,700 crore had been announced for the overall development of the district and comprehensive projects in health, education, animal husbandry and dairy development sectors were being executed as a part of it, the Chief Minister said.

All possible steps would be adopted to tap the tourism potential of the district and the Jain circle, a pilgrim tourism circle connecting 12 Jain temples, would be materialised soon. The government was providing all support for the overall progress of the tribal sector, Mr. Vijayan said.

Comprehensive development projects were executed in the health sector and a master plan would be drafted soon. The government was able to actively intervene in the buffer zone issue, and more job opportunities would be ensured for tribespeople, the Chief Minister added. He said that Forest and Agriculture departments were jointly preparing a report on a ₹3.88-crore project to address the issues related to wildlife crop raid in the district.

Answering an interactive session in the morning on various issues concerning the district, Mr. Vijayan said discussions would be resumed with the Karnataka government to repeal night traffic ban on the Karnataka’s part of the National Highway 766.

Mr. Vijayan said the proposed carbon-neutral coffee park would be realised soon to resolve the issues of coffee farmers, and the stone-laying ceremony for the project would be held in January next year. The feasibility of the proposed ropeway project to Wayanad would be studied.