The final decision on a total ban on the entry of vehicles to the renovated SM Street will be taken by the Kozhikode Corporation council in a democratic way, Excise Minister T.P. Ramakrishnan, who is also the Minister in charge of the district, has said.
The Minister who convened a special meeting to discuss the issue on Saturday said the attempt made by a group of traders to disrupt Friday’s meeting attended by people’s representatives and the District Collector to discuss the inaugural ceremony of the renovated street was quite unfortunate.
“It should not have happened in a city like Kozhikode, which upholds high socio-cultural values. The city has a custom of settling every dispute through democratic discussions and negotiations,” said Mr. Ramakrishnan expressing his discontent over the unexpected reactions of the merchants.
He also said that holding up of people’s representatives in public using crowd power would not be tolerated. As already planned, the renovated street would be opened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on December 23, he said.
Public opinion will decide it
Stating his stance on banning traffic on the SM Street, Mr. Ramakrishnan said the government would go by public opinion. He pointed out that the merchants too were part of that civic community and they should accept the collective interest as such. The Tourism Department that spent ₹7 crore for the renovation of the street also had the welfare of the merchants in mind, he explained.
The surprise protest staged by a group of merchants during the Collector’s meeting with the people’s representatives on Friday to discuss the inaugural function had ended up in stormy scenes. People’s representatives including M.K. Muneer and A. Pradeepkumar, MLAs, were asked by the protesters to announce on the spot the lifting of the ban on traffic on the renovated street. Though the authorities repeatedly asked the protesters to leave, they continued to gherao the leaders by sticking to their demand to lift the ban. The situation was brought under control with the arrival of more police personnel.
