UDF demands steps to address congestion in ghat section of NH-766
The Hindu
KALPETTA
Hundreds took part in a fast led by T. Siddique, MLA, at the Wayanad Gate on Tuesday raising a slew of demands including steps to tackle traffic hold-ups in the Thamarassery ghat section of the Kozhikode-Kollegal National Highway 766.
Inaugurating the programme, United Democratic Front convener M.M. Hassan said though a large stretch of forestland was handed over for the comprehensive development of the ghats section of the highway in 2018, the so-called development works were yet to be taken up.
It was a challenge to the people in the hill district, he said. People are in crisis owing to issues such as recurring man-animal conflicts and poor road connectivity and healthcare facilities.
Road connectivity is integral to the development of the region. Many lost their lives in accidents in the ghats section of the road owing to the absence of proper healthcare facilities in Wayanad, he said.
The government’s negligence of the health sector continues even after the loss of several lives in wildlife attacks, Mr. Hassan said, adding that it had also failed to address issues such as lifting the night traffic ban on Karnataka’s part of the NH 766 and the implementation of the Nanjangud-Sulthan Bathery-Nilambur railway project.
The protesters also demanded the construction of the Chippilithodu-Maruthilavu-Lakkidi road and the proposed four-lane tunnel road project on the Anakkampoyil-Kalladi-Meppadi route, alternatives to the busy Thamarassery ghat road that connects Kozhikode and Wayanad districts, besides setting up the proposed government medical college at Madakkimala in the district.
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