Trailer lorries stuck on Ghat Road may get green signal soon

Kozhikode

Two trailer lorries carrying huge equipment for a multinational food and beverage company, which were stopped near Thamarassery Ghat Road in Kozhikode district around three months ago, are likely to get a green signal soon to move on.

The lorries are 16-ft wide and 20-ft tall. Coming from Chennai and bound for the MNC’s factory at Nanjangud in Karnataka, they were stopped by the Kozhikode district administration on Ghat Road on September 10 considering the huge rush of vehicles then. The views of the Wayanad district administration too were considered.

The lorries were told to take the Koyilandy-Mangaluru route or the Perambra-Nadapuram-Kannur route as alternative ones. The lorry operators as well as the company officials, however, expressed difficulty in changing the route as the vehicles had already reached Adivaram. Kozhikode District Collector N. Tej Lohit Reddy then set up an expert committee to explore options to let the lorries continue their journey on Ghat Road.

The committee inspected the vehicles and the road. It said that the lorries could resume their journey on any day except Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m. when vehicle rush is comparatively less. Officials of the Public Works department and the national highways division and the Thamarassery police were part of the committee.

According to sources, the operators now have been told to give an affidavit undertaking all responsibilities for the onward journey and a cautionary deposit of ₹20 lakh with the Kozhikode collectorate. Demand drafts for the amount drawn in favour of Wayanad and Kozhikode district administrations should be submitted in Kozhikode. The money will be returned once both the vehicles pass by Ghat Road without any trouble.

The machines imported from South Korea were for manufacturing milk powder and chocolate powder. The lorries are owned by a Tamil Nadu-based transport company, which is reported to have incurred losses to the tune of lakhs of rupees because of the delay. There were around 14 people, including wiremen, drivers, and technicians, in the lorries. After their onward journey was delayed, many of them went home.

One of the drivers told The Hindu on Thursday from his home town in Palakkad that he was expecting a message from the operator on the date of journey soon.