Private bus operators are planning to suspend services in protest against the pathetic condition of the Thrissur-Palakkad national highway.
Bus owners complain that services cannot be operated through the potholed roads and demanded complete tar-topping of the roads. They said they would declare the date of the indefinite strike within two days.
Hunger stir
Meanwhile, the hunger strike started by the Vaniyampara People’s Coordination Committee on Thiruvonam is continuing. Expressing solidarity with the strike, owners of private buses on the Thrissur-Palakkad route also joined the hunger strike.
While the authorities and the contract company, which is doing the road work, remain mum, the death toll in accidents is on the rise on the battered highway.
While 16 people were killed in 2016, seven persons lost their lives so far in 2017. Two-wheeler riders are the main victims in these accidents. Saravanan of Palakkad, who was killed at Kuthiran in a bike accident, is the latest victim. The number of people injured in accidents is many times more.
Absence of repairs and delay in construction of the six-lane road have been cited for the increase in number of accidents. The 10-km stretch from Vaniyampara to Pattikkad is a nightmare for drivers, with the road in a pathetic condition. If the distance from Vaniyampara to Thrissur could be covered in 40 minutes earlier, it could take two to three hours now depending on traffic. Ambulances with critically ill patients caught in the traffic jam are a common sight on the road stretch.
Meanwhile, workers of the contract companies started agitation a week ago complaining delay in payment of wages. Only 13 km of the 29-km six-lane road from Wadakkanchery to Mannuthy has been completed.
If the situation persisits, traffic congestion on the national highway will remain even if the two tunnels at Kuthiran are ready.