Local bodies demand setting up of quick response team

  • | Friday | 22nd September, 2017

He says the formation of a quick response team has been pending with the NH wing for long. Despite the frequent caving in of earth and the subsequent disruption of traffic on the 12-km Thamarassery Ghat Road, a quick response team to meet emergency situations is yet to be put in place, local bodies in the area have complained. Local body heads from the area allege that the response of the NH authorities and the police to traffic woes during the monsoon has been lukewarm. The National Highways (NH) division of the Public Works Department (PWD), which is supposed to form the team, has been accused of cold-shouldering the demand, putting the entire responsibility on the Ghat Road Protection Committee. Puthuppady grama panchayat authorities say the pre-monsoon road renovation work was not carried out seriously by the NH division.

more-in Despite the frequent caving in of earth and the subsequent disruption of traffic on the 12-km Thamarassery Ghat Road, a quick response team to meet emergency situations is yet to be put in place, local bodies in the area have complained. The National Highways (NH) division of the Public Works Department (PWD), which is supposed to form the team, has been accused of cold-shouldering the demand, putting the entire responsibility on the Ghat Road Protection Committee. Local body heads from the area allege that the response of the NH authorities and the police to traffic woes during the monsoon has been lukewarm. Inter-district emergency services are the worst-hit on the route during unexpected blocks. A round-the-clock police patrol is necessary to regulate traffic during emergencies, they add. “During the monsoon, overloaded trucks from various quarries choke traffic on hairpin bends. This needs to be curtailed,” says Kodenchery panchayat vice president Thampi Parakandathil. The existing police outpost at Adivaram is hardly able to manage the situation, he adds. Puthuppady grama panchayat authorities say the pre-monsoon road renovation work was not carried out seriously by the NH division. According to them, the fortification of the sidewall is yet to be completed to prevent the caving in of land. “We have decided to take up the issue with the Minister for Public Works and the national highway authorities. As a local body, we have only limited powers to involve in a project, which has been totally entrusted with the NH division,” says Puhuppady panchayat president K.K. Nandakumar. He says the formation of a quick response team has been pending with the NH wing for long. The proposal to construct an alternative road to Wayanad is yet to gain momentum with the Forest Department opposing the land acquisition process on various stretches, says Mr. Nandakumar. The completion of the Chipplithodu-Maruthilavu-Thalippuzha road, proposed in 1990s, is now facing a hurdle at Nooramthodu, where the Forest Department has to give the final clearance to proceed further, he adds. Meanwhile, Revenue Department sources say the District Collector has written to the PWD to immediately carry out pending renovation work on the Ghat Road, including the fortification of sidewalls. He has also sought the appointment of a temporary work force to handle emergency works on the route.

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