Wayanad: An indefinite hunger strike launched by the action council of people living in villages along the Sulthan Bathery-Thaloor Road here was called off on the tenth day after the state government agreed to address their concerns.
PWD Minister PA Muhammed Riyas has reportedly agreed to ensure the completion of the re-tendering for the road repair works in 10 days. He met leaders of the action council in the state capital on Thursday.
The Sulthan Bathery-Thaloor Road, an inter-state link highway, has been in a dilapidated state due to a three-year delay over reconstruction.
Accident-prone inter-state road
According to the action council, residents of scores of villages, including Nenmeni and Ambalavayal in Sulthan Bathery and even those in the Pandalur Taluk in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu rely on the 11 kilometre road. An 8-km-stretch along the route is in shambles.
For the people of Pandalur, the Sulthan Bathery-Thaloor Road is the best route for their healthcare and educational needs.
The left hand of a student traveling from Ambalavayal to Suthan Bathery was chopped off after hitting an electric post when a bus lost control on the road.
Women, who were the majority in the front line of the agitation, had complained about the difficulties they faced while travelling on the road during pregnancy and menustral period. Private buses plying on the route had also joined the agitation by observing a half-day hartal.
KIIFB to fund the reconstruction
According Manaf Koliyadi, Biju K Chacko, and Eliyas Kurian, who led the agitation, the minister has assured to fund the road reconstruction work through KIIFB (Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board).
In the winding up ceremony, Wayanad-Nilgiri Railway and National Highway Action Council convener Adv TM Rasheed said that this agitation was an example of how to lead a people’s agitation across political and religious barriers. “Now we have shown how people can emerge as a corrective force in society”, he said.
MLA IC Balakrishnan had raised the issue in the ongoing session of the state Assembly. He said that the CPM had levelled baseless allegations of corruption against him. Meanwhile, the CPM in the district is also facing graft charges in connection with the road works for allegedly letting a Tamil Nadu-based construction company to quit before completion of works.
