Residents stage protest over delay in laying service road along Tiruchi-Thanjavur Highway

They have condemned attempts to put the proposal in cold storage and the lack of progress in land acquisition

Members of the Federation for Retrieval of Tiruchi-Palpannai-Thuvakudi Service Roads stage a demonstration at Thiruverumbur in Tiruchi on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: M. Srinath

A cross-section of residents of colonies situated along Tiruchi-Thanjavur National Highway on Wednesday staged a demonstration at Tiruverumbur here pressing for construction of service lanes along the 14-km-long city stretch of the highway between Thuvakudi and Palpannai.

The demonstration was organised under the aegis of the Federation for Retrieval of Tiruchi Palpannai-Thuvakudi Service Roads, comprising residents’ welfare associations, in protest against the proposal to build the service lanes being put in the cold storage.

The protesters raised slogans condemning the delay in executing the project and drew the attention of the State government to the frequent road accidents, leading to loss of limbs and lives of residents living along the highway stretch. They urged the government not to favour traders who were opposed to the construction of the service lanes.

The residents regretted that despite their 12-year-long struggle, the service roads had not materialised. They pointed out that the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had, in October 2019, directed NHAI to take expeditious steps to build service lanes along the stretch. But till date, the land acquisition process had not been completed.

The protesters called upon the DMK government and School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi to fulfil their election promise to execute the project. A resolution adopted during the demonstration urged the Minister to take firm steps to complete the land acquisition process and hand over the land to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for building the service lanes.

The federation also urged Tiruchi MP Su. Thirunavukkarasar to raise the issue in Parliament citing the High Court order.

The federation resolved to continue their struggle in coordination with political parties and organisations supporting their cause. It urged the district administration to initiate immediate measures to prevent accidents on the highway stretch until the service roads were built. The government should provide due compensation to families of road accident victims, who had lost their lives and limbs, on the highway stretch since 2010.