Thamarassery Ghat road trips now uphill task

KOZHIKODE: The poor condition of the Thamarassery Ghat road connecting Wayanad with Kozhikode and the southern part of the state has made waiting for hours on end an everyday affair for vehicles. The traffic jam lasted 7 hours on Monday morning starting from 3 am, as a truck coming from Karnataka turned turtle. Despite the district administration’s order in 2010, when the then collector PB Salim imposed restrictions on the movement of heavy vehicles on these roads, no vehicles follow it. Even officials have failed to implement the order, resulting in the chaos.

“The Ghat road witnessed the worst traffic jam on Sunday and it lasted for more than 8 hours,”said Shahid Kuttamboor, Thamarassery- Wayanad Ghat protection committee member. “Due to the poor condition, a Volvo bus fell into a pothole on the road. Later the officials had to fill the pothole with one load of metal. But then again, this metal had to be removed as another vehicle following the bus got jammed in it,” he added. After all this drama on the road, the traffic was cleared in the evening. This is just one example in the last 10 days about a typical day on this road.  “Our committee is all set to stage a protest against the government seeking immediate action to resolve the issue,” Shahid Kuttamboor said.