Panel pulls up NHAI as space beneath Thondayad flyover turns garbage dump

Human Rights Commission serves notice on agency

The unauthorised parking of goods trucks beneath the flyover at Thondayad on the national highway bypass in Kozhikode city has led to the area becoming a dumping yard. The issue has drawn the attention of the Kerala State Human Rights Commission, which has directed the office of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in Kozhikode to solve it and submit a report to the Commission within four weeks. Crew of trucks parked under the flyover often cook their food nearby and abandon waste, including plastic, wherever they camp. As a result, plastic and other waste are now spread across the area beneath the flyover. Truck parking under the flyover started recently as parking has been banned on South Beach. The Kozhikode Municipal Corporation is yet to make an alternative arrangement for the parking of trucks. Though the Thondayad area comes under the corporation, there is a jurisdiction problem as the flyover comes under the National Highways Authority. Dumping of waste along the bypass from passing vehicles has given a constant headache to the corporation authorities. The civic body had organised several mass cleaning drives over the years to clear non-biodegradable waste from the sides of the bypass.