In view of the rising number of road accidents involving pedestrians, the authorities have decided to evict wayside encroachments along the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP) roads in the Ettumanoor and Carithas regions.
The decision follows a complaint to this effect, raised by Suresh Kurup, MLA, during a meeting of the District Development Committee here the other day. According to him, the presence of wayside vendors and unauthorized eateries severely affected the functioning of the educational institutions at these locations.
According to officials, the eviction drive will be conducted by a joint team of police, revenue and the KSTP officials.
Besides the unauthorized establishments, action will be initiated against those parking along the road sides, which affect the movement of pedestrians.
Earlier, the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) too had approached the Kottayam district administration with a request to clear off the wayside encroachments.
A survey carried out recently identified over 230 wayside encroachment in and around the Kottayam Town alone.
Meanwhile, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, MLA, called for streamlining the distribution of drinking water in view of the onset of summer.
A direction was issued to the Executive Engineer of the Kerala Water Authority to expedite the works to fix the leakages along the pipeline networks and at the Poovathumoodu Treatment Plant.
On the occasion, Mr.Radhakrishnan also sought stern action against those dumping waste on the newly opened bypass road at Eerayilkadavu, sources said.
Ponkunnam MLA, N.Jayaraj urged the authorities to ensure the quality of drinking water to be supplied by the various local bodies.