THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The Kerala State Human Rights Commission had in May ordered that processions and protests on main roads in Thiruvananthapuram should be controlled. The move came after Anilkumar Pandala, former MD of Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company (TRDCL) raised the issue.
However, nothing has changed. Demonstrations and protests continue unabated in front of the Raj Bhavan.
The KSHRC had issued the order on May 9, banning demonstrations and protests on the Kowdiar-Vellayambalam route. However, Anilkumar alleged several violations of the order have taken place since. He also said roads are closed without any intimation, causing hardship to people.
“I stay at Kowdiar and take the stretch daily. However, on many days, the traffic police block the route without prior intimation,” he told TNIE.
In the event of a protest or demonstration in front of the Raj Bhavan, the traffic police divert vehicular movement through the Vellayambalam Jawahar Lane that passes through Jawahar Nagar and reaches Kowdiar. Local residents said they are fed up with the heavy stream of vehicles.
There have also been several instances where traffic police blocked the road with a rope. Such practices have led to several accidents, some of them fatal. Though the government and the police themselves had banned the same, the latter continue to use ropes to block the Kowdiar-Vellayambalam stretch. It’s sheer luck that no accident had taken place on the stretch so far.
When contacted, Sheen Tharayil, assistant commissioner of traffic police (Thiruvananthapuram North) told TNIE that he took charge recently and was not aware of the SHRC order.