A plea was made to the Centre to draw its urgent attention to the inordinate delay in the completion of the Mannuthy-Wadakkanchery stretch of the National Highway 544 (Old NH 47), Kerala’s first six-lane highway, and the twin tunnel roads in Kuthiran.
This stretch of the highway is a strategic route of transportation between Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
T.N. Prathapan, MP, has written to Nithin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, urging a high-level investigation against KMC, the consigned company, and officials of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), who are allegedly responsible for the delay in the completion of the work. The letter has been signed by all MPs in the State.
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Claimed 58 lives
“The NHAI and the KMC are delaying the work on 25.5 km of road with four underpasses and a twin tunnel. The sluggish pace of work and pathetic condition of the road have already claimed 58 precious lives,” Mr. Pathapan said.
As per the original plan, the work required just 30 months. But it is still pending even after 8 years. The construction has been carried out unscientifically and without adhering to any safety standards prescribed by the Indian Road Congress, the MP said.
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“The company has violated the contract provisions for strengthening the walls of Kuthiran tunnels. Leakage has been reported in the tunnel and lack of expertise in construction is evident. The NHAI has neither given strict instruction to the company nor allowed the State PWD to do the overlay work,” the petition alleged.
The Kerala High Court had given directions to complete the highway construction by adopting proper safety measures.
Rights panel
The Human Rights Commission, too, had taken up the issue seriously and issued directions to finish the work immediately. Moreover, as per the direction of Magistrate Court, Thrissur, the police had registered a case against chairman of the NHAI and KMC. But the company was neglecting all the court directions about safety standards, Mr. Prathapan said. He alleged a nexus between NHAI and KMC company. There is urgent need of opening at least one of the tunnels at Kuthiran, where severe traffic congestion was often witnessed.
The NHAI and the KMC are deliberately delaying the work, he said.
The MP requested the Union Minster to convene an urgent meeting of a committee consisting of State PWD Minster, Secretary to the PWD Minister, MPs of Thrissur and Alathur, MLAs concerned, Chairman of NHAI, Thrissur District Collector, Managing Director of Thrissur Express Way (special purpose vehicle of the KMC for the work), senior officials of the KMC, and social activist Adv. Shaji Kodankandathu, who approached the high court on the issue.