The Wayanad unit of the Prakrithi Samrakshana Samiti termed the recent protest by T Siddique and IC Balakrishnan, MLA, as a farce, claiming that they were not really interested in solving the traffic problems on the Thamarasseri Ghat road.
Wednesday’s meeting of the samiti pointed out that they have not proposed any practical solutions to solve the incessant traffic jams on the Ghat Road, nor have they forced the government to face the real reasons behind the congestion.
Alleging that the MLAs are trying to protect their vested interests, the Samitis questioned the indifference of OR Kelu, the only minister from the district.
The Samiti pointed out that the traffic jams on the Ghat Road are not new and have escalated over the decades. While the government was busy constructing the tunnel road at a cost of ₹2,500 crore, it neglected the option of constructing five ghat roads to Wayanad which would cost less than ₹500 crore.
“The larger plan is to ensure public outrage over traffic jams and thus pave the way for new roads through the Western Ghats. This would only help the land mafia, forest encroachers and resort owners,” the summits claimed.
“There are no attempts to widen the Thamarassery Ghat road despite the forest department approving the development. Trucks on the road are congested. The Pakramthalam Ghat road does not come under the forest area and hence can be easily developed. Multi-axle vehicles and goods transporters could be diverted through this road. But there have been no attempts to make it happen from other vehicles up the hill at Waya. stations like Ooty Consequently, too villages in the district occasionally experience traffic bottlenecks that make normal life difficult,” the samiti pointed out.
The meeting was chaired by the president of the summit, N. Badusha.
Published – 31 Dec 2025 20:56 IST
