An uphill task awaits the State government to bring to fruition two major projects for the benefit of the people of north Kerala.
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One of them is the proposed tunnel road, an alternative to Thamarassery Ghat pass, that connects Kozhikode and Wayanad. The proposal is to construct a 6.8-km tunnel on the Anakkampoyil -Kalladi-Meppadi route aimed at decongesting the existing Thamarassery Ghat road.
“In fact, the project will have a beneficial effect for both Kerala and Karnataka. However, the government has to apprise the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change of the new project. The widening of the existing road can result in environment destruction. That why the previous government came up with a tunnel road proposal,” Minister for Forest and Wildlife A.K. Saseendran, said.
Last year, the Konkan Rail Corporation Limited started the survey, field investigation, and traffic study for the ₹658-crore two-lane tunnel road project. The proposal would benefit thousands of people as the distance from Kozhikode to Wayanad will be reduced to 54 km from the existing 85 km.
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Another is the construction of elevated bio-fencing and flyovers over the Bandipur Tiger Reserve to circumvent the night traffic ban through National Highway 766 that connects Karnataka and Kerala.
“Of the many options, this was one of the proposals before the government. However, the Karnataka has objected to this project. So, we need to take up the project with them again,” Mr. Saseendran said.
At present, the decisions of the courts had favoured the suggestions put forth by the Karnataka government, he said. Attempts to revoke the decade-old night traffic ban on the forest stretch of the road also yielded no results.
Two years ago, the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways had proposed the ₹460-crore project to sort out the issue between Kerala and Karnataka on ban on the highway from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. However, the proposal to construct five elevated sections of 1-km stretch, of which four will be at Bandipur and one in Wayanad on the highway, was yet to get clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Successive governments in Karnataka, Mr. Saseendran said, remained unchanged on the issue. “The Wildlife Department should not act and function like activists. Environmentalists confine to their sphere of activity. But governments should not take extreme steps. It will have to protect forests, take up issues of the people and undertake development programmes,” he said.
Earlier, the government came up with a proposal to develop a road via Panamaram-Payyambilli-Kutta-Gonikuppa. However, people in Wayanad district opposed the proposal saying that the alternative road would also have to pass through forests.
Now the government will also have to think of an alternative such as the construction of Valluvadi-Chikkabargi Bypass for which the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre had given a proposal to the government.