THRISSUR: People taking the NH 544 to travel between Mannuthy and Angamaly daily are having a harrowing time due to the severe traffic congestion caused by the construction of underpasses at five locations on the stretch.
The work on the underpasses at Amballur, Chirangara, Karukutty, Mulangu and Koratty, which began this year, has considerably increased travel time. For instance, the journey from Thrissur to Ernakulam, a two-hour trip on weekdays, now takes more than three-and-a-half hours due to traffic blocks. Local residents are hit too, as going to even the nearest junction has become tedious.
“I stay in Ollur and have to take the bus to Puthukkad daily for work. While it took me 20-25 minutes, I now reach Puthukkad only after an hour owing to the congestion at Amballur. What is the point of the highway if it takes so much time to cover just 10 km,” asked Rekha, a resident.
Justin, an autorickshaw driver, said they are unable to take rides through the NH 544 owing to the congestion. “At Koratty and Chirangara, the traffic block stretches for at least 6 km. During medical emergencies, we are forced to take rural roads, adding to the delay,” he said.
In April, Thrissur District Collector Arjun Pandian wrote to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), urging it to make arrangements for easing the congestion on the route by im plementing road diversions and placing warning signals where excavation works was on. When this was not done, he ordered a halt to toll collection at Paliyekkara. The order was withdrawn after the NHAI promised necessary steps.
Thrissur District Congress Committee president Joseph Tajet said people demanded underpasses as their commute was affected when NH 544 was widened to four-lane.
The reason was there were no service roads. “Now, the works are causing more trouble to the people, and nothing has been done to address the issues,” he said, adding that the company collecting the toll was responsible for rectifying the black spots on the NH 544 and it should have done the same before collecting toll.
The Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP) has also flayed the unplanned construction works. “The works began without any consultation with local bodies and police. What is the point of collecting toll if there are no services to show for it,” said T Sreenath of KSSP’s Nenmanikkara unit.
In a report, the Thrissur Rural police had said that lack of warning signals near excavation sites, poor maintenance and incomplete service roads has led to chaos on NH 544 stretch.