KASARAGOD: Residents of Nileshwar, who have been staging a protest for the past 25 days, marked Vishu by offering ‘Vishu kani’ to a model of an elevated highway, expressing hope that their demand for a flyover along NH66 would become a reality.
A group of protesters created a model of an elevated highway and offered Vishu kani to it on Vishu, highlighting their prolonged demand.
The residents have been holding a protest under a makeshift tent on NH66, seeking an elevated flyover for a 450-metre stretch.
The NHAI, through its contracting company Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL), based in Hyderabad, has been constructing the six-lane highway.
This is the first 37-km stretch of MEIL’s project between Chengala and Nileshwar. The NHAI has proposed a six-lane highway comprising a three-lane elevated corridor and a three-lane service road.
However, residents have opposed the elevated corridor, stating that the structure would cut off the south-western part of the town from the north-eastern side.
While the south-western side has three fishing harbours, several tourism spots and a boat house terminal at Kottapuram, the north-eastern side houses the municipal office, railway station, bus stand and markets.
“The highway construction will destroy our town’s progress. There is no place to park auto rickshaws or taxis. The markets have been removed and the entrance to our town has been reduced to a single-lane service road,” said T Hareendran, a resident at the protest site.
The action committee leading the protest stated that the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) for the project had earlier proposed an elevated flyover from Nedumkandam to Karuvalarcheri for nearly one kilometre.
“The ground was prepared for pillars and electrical poles were shifted. But all the works have been stalled and the contracting company started building this huge wall as an elevated corridor,” said D Rajan, convener of the action committee.
Under the previous DIPR, the old narrow bridge, which is 66 years old, was to be dismantled and replaced with a new one. While one section of the highway has been provided with an elevated bridge, the old bridge has been retained under the altered DIPR, said Sreenath Sasi, chairperson of the committee.
“Retaining the old bridge will affect the Kovalam-Bekal Waterway project,” he pointed out.
He further said that the six-lane highway would narrow into a five-lane road on the bridge, potentially triggering severe traffic congestion. The junction is already facing frequent traffic snarls, he added.
The protesters clarified that they are not demanding an elevated flyover for the entire one-kilometre stretch, as proposed earlier, but only for the 450 metres from the river mouth to the Nileshwar police station.
“This is our only demand and we are not backing out until NHAI agrees to our demand,” Sasi added.