Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu action panel stages hunger strike

Action Committee members paying floral tribute to those who lost their lives in various accidents on the Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu stretch of Wayanad road, in Kozhikode on Friday.

Action Committee members paying floral tribute to those who lost their lives in various accidents on the Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu stretch of Wayanad road, in Kozhikode on Friday.   | Photo Credit: S_RAMESHKURUP

Demands widening of 8.4-km stretch

Activists of the Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Action Committee led by historian M.G.S. Narayanan staged a token one-day hunger strike in front of the District Collectorate here to press the State government to widen the 8.4-km stretch of the national highway that passes through the city.

“We had earlier planned to go ahead with an indefinite strike. But it was called off since Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had assured us that the issue would be considered soon,” said action committee general secretary M.P. Vasudevan. “We will wait for a month for the Finance Department to release ₹112 crore to be given to property owners who have agreed to hand over land to convert the two-lane road into a four-lane carriageway,” he said.

The mass hunger strike saw the participation of people from different walks of life, including social and cultural leaders, councillors of the Kozhikode Corporation and representatives of residents’ associations.

Gandhian Thayat Balan, activist A. Vasu (popularly known as ‘Grow’ Vasu), and former Kozhikode Mayor C.J. Robin took part in the protest from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.