They complain that the promises made by the officials in the initial phase were not fulfilled.
They complain that the promises made by the officials in the initial phase were not fulfilled.
A section of local residents, who handed over their prime land for widening of National Highway-66 in the district, have expressed serious concern over the ongoing uncertainty over the construction of some service roads along some important stretches. They allege that the service road proposal, which was earlier approved by the authorities while taking the land, has been kept out for unrelated reasons.
Primarily, those living along the Vadakara-Ajiyur section of the national highway are the complainants who claim that their access to the wide road will be restricted in many parts and service roads will be closed. They also feel that refusal is a breach of trust.
Some local residents in Kunhipalli near Vadakara allege that the construction of a toll booth on the Mukkali-Kunhipalli section is the main reason for the abandonment of the service road. They allege that the unexpected difference in the height of the wide part is also preventing the authorities from approving the service road now.
Taxi operators in Chombal and Ajiyur villages say that in the absence of proper service roads to the already promised places, they will be forced to travel several kilometers extra to touch the national highway. In addition, it will affect people’s local connectivity with various government offices, hospitals and local body facilities, they argue.
A 65-year-old businessman from Mukkali said, “We fear there will be official support for such road widening work without considering previous assurances by local administrators.” He alleged that a private company doing road widening work in the area was hardly aware of the proposal of the service road.
Some local residents also complained that the interventions by some public representatives on the issue were also failing. Although contractors were receptive to the idea, the official plan was playing poorly without recommending service roads, he pointed out.
On the other hand, an engineer associated with the road supervision work said that increasing the number of service roads will affect the traffic flow as well as make it an accident prone route. He also pointed out that the alignment was planned after a thorough study and the local residents were aware of the risk factors involved in considering their demand.