Kerala: Congress demands fixing responsibilities of crumbling under-construction national highway

Thiruvananthapuram, May 21 State Congress president Sunny Joseph on Wednesday asked the Pinarayi Vijayan government to ensure responsibilities are fixed on the crumbling under-construction National Highway 66.

Joseph asked the Chief Minister after stretches of the under-construction NH 66 crumbled, leaving hundreds of people in and around the area living in a state of shock.

“The need of the hour is to ensure that the fears of the people have to be addressed. Now what’s going on is a blame game, and it’s high time that the responsibilities were fixed for what has happened. Now with the rainy season round the corner, the gravity of the issue is grave,” said Joseph.

Kerala Congress President said that there was a fight between the Centre (BJP) and the State government to take credit for the highway before it started cracking.

“But after the cracking incident, none of you is coming forward to take the responsibility. This issue has to be addressed very quickly,” added Joseph.

On Monday, a section of the under-construction NH 66 at Kooriyad in Malappuram district collapsed, while the retaining wall and service road sank in. Even though there were no casualties but a few vehicles were damaged. Fear also gripped the area, leading to protests.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, similar cracks on the highway at Kasargod and Thrissur districts were also reported.

The Youth Congress has also slammed the State Public Works Department Minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas, who is also the son-in-law of Vijayan, as he always took credit for the massive road development that has taken place since 2021, after he became the Minister. However, the minister has been silent since the incident took place.

On Tuesday, the Chief Minister, while praising the efforts of his government on the fourth anniversary of his second term in office, described the cracking of NH 66 as an “unfortunate” incident.

Meanwhile, the National Highway Authority of India, which is responsible for the construction of the NH 66, have commenced a detailed examination on what happened, and its top officials have arrived at the spot and are taking stock of it.

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