THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would meet Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar in view of the Supreme Court directive to submit the suggestion for closing down the Kozhikode-Mysuru-Kollegal highway. Earlier, the state has proposed an elevated highway through the Bandipur National Park connecting Wayanad and Mysuru in Karnataka to avoid the connectivity issue in the region.
But, the Union Ministry has ordered status quo, and it has informed the apex court that it has started taking measures to close down the highway in response to the SC direction. For the people of both the regions, if an alternate highway is constructed as a solution to solve the impasse, the distance between the two destinations would be increased by 44 km as per the current proposed alignment. Further, this alternate highway would pass through the reserve forest. The state has come up with an elevated highway against this backdrop.
Night traffic ban on the route has affected the movement of people and goods. Considering the plight of the people in Wayanad, the state has decided to approach the Centre again to explore the feasibility of constructing an elevated highway, he said.