All mass events and protests held in front of the S.K. Pottekkatt statue at S.M. Street and posing inconvenience to people visiting the iconic street will be curtailed soon.
A meeting to be chaired by Minister for Excise and Labour T.P. Ramakrishnan on Saturday will discuss the issue. “The events are causing inconvenience to people visiting S.M. Street. We cannot allow this to continue,” Mayor Thottathil Raveendran told The Hindu on Friday.
Early this week, the city corporation council discussed the issue through a calling attention motion raised by councillor Nambidi Narayanan. “The open space is usually usurped by organisers whether the programmes and agitations are big or small. We have been receiving complaints from the general public as well,” he said, adding that the issue needed to be discussed with all stakeholders.
Previously, the corporation and the district administration had jointly taken a decision to ban the entry of vehicles to S.M. Street after it was renovated last year. The Traffic Regulatory Committee comprising the Mayor, District Collector, District Police Chief and Executive Engineer of Public Works Department had then taken a firm decision in spite of objections from traders who demanded that vehicular movement should not be restricted.
However, Mr. Raveendran said a date would be fixed to discuss the issue with all the parties involved.
Legislators A. Pradeepkumar and M.K. Muneer, representing Kozhikode North and Kozhikode South Assembly segments respectively, and District Collector U.V. Jose will take part in the meeting on Saturday.
The district administration has wholeheartedly supported the suggestion. Cultural programmes held in the evening result in traffic congestion in and around Mananchira Square and Muthalakulam Maidan.
The District Collector said the administration was toying with the idea of issuing an order that specifically stated what type of events could be organised in front of S.M. Street.
“The inconvenience caused to the visitors has worsened in recent times,” said Mr. Jose.
