Palakkad: A day after the death of four schoolgirls in a truck accident at Karimba here, a high-level meeting chaired by district collector S Chithra IAS was held at the district collectorate here to discuss the complaints of the public over the unscientific construction of Palakkad-Kozhikode National Highway. After the meeting, Minister K Krishnankutty told the media that action would be taken to avoid deaths and accidents on this stretch of the road. According to residents, unscientific construction of the National Highway turned Karimba's Panayambadam into an accident-prone area. 

Talking to the media, Kongad MLA K Santhakumari said that a team of officials including the Superintendent of Police, Road Transport Officer and officials from the Public Works Department and National Highway Authority of India will conduct a joint auditing of the road where the accident took place on Thursday. 

The high-level meeting also decided to deploy police on the road to ensure that traffic rules including speed curbs are strictly followed. Though the minister assured action to solve accidents on the road, the officials added that a detailed study should be carried out to fix issues related to the unscientific construction of the road. 

Palakkad MP VK Sreekandan raised sharp criticism against the National Highway Authority of India over the accident. He said that lapses of the state and central governments in addressing the public's concerns over road accidents ended up in the tragedy at Karimba. The MP added that he would meet the transport minister seeking action against officials involved in the unscientific construction of the road. 

According to residents, Panayampadam, located in Karimba panchayat, Palakkad, is a frequent site of accidents. So far, 55 accidents have occurred in the area, resulting in seven fatalities and 65 injuries. This issue was raised by Kongad MLA K Shanthakumari during calling attention in the Assembly in 2022.

Four class 8 girls of Karimnba Government Higher Secondary School were killed after a cement-laden truck lost control and fell on them on Thursday evening. They met with the accident while returning home from school. The girls were pronounced dead before arrival at the hospital. According to police, the vehicle lost control and overturned after colliding with another truck from the opposite direction. Police have slapped culpable homicide charges against the driver of this vehicle that hit the truck that fell on the students. The driver and cleaner of the truck involved in the accident were taken into police custody on Thursday.