Kozhikode: Action council to block national highway

Kozhikode: The Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Road Action Council will blockade the national highway at Malaparamba on July 29 protesting the state's lethargy in its maintenance and expansion.

A meeting of the action council held here on Wednesday took the decision. All the members are ready to court arrest for the cause, action council said in a press release.  

Historian Dr M.G.S Narayanan, Gandhian Thayattu Balan, conservationist Dr A. Achuthan and activist Grow Vasu will lead the blockade.

The action council will also ensure the safety of those participating in the strike, the release said.

Over the past five years, more than 100 passengers have died in road accidents, and many more injured. When the bereaved are in a state of distress, they say, ministers are continually deceiving the people by giving false promises and government orders.

The action committee assessed that over the past seven years, they had adopted all methods of protest allowed in a democracy to force the public works department to implement the government-approved scheme.

The government has so far acquired land worth more than Rs 114 crore. The former UDF government had allotted Rs 64 crore, and the present government had sanctioned Rs 50 crore. The Rs 100 crore allocated during budget is yet to be released.

"This is not a political struggle against any front or representatives of the people. It is to implement the government-approved road development," said the action council.  

The meeting also decided to convene five regional meetings of socio-cultural activists, councillors, and Residents' Associations which would be held in Mananchira, Nadakkavu, Civil Station, Malaparamba, and Vellimadukunnu on July 21 as part of making the blockade a success.