The pride path should not be a disaster

The development of the National Highway is one of the biggest achievements of Kerala in recent times. This assessment holds true considering how essential infrastructure development is for the growth and progress of a country. However, around 250 meters of National Highway 66 and its service road collapsed raising concerns the other day. The road, made from raising an embankment about 10 meters high, cutting through fields in Kuriyad vayal between Kottakkall and Kolappuram in Malappuram district caved in. The service road also gave way from the impact of the main road’s fall. Alongside cracking the road for about 300 metres, there formed small knolls. The collapse comes as the road construction is entering its last phase. This section of the Thrissur-Kozhikode road, one of the busiest in the state, is currently closed for about 10 kilometers and traffic is being diverted.

This is not the first time an under construction national highway is facing landslides and sagging. The national highway and service roads in many places including in Kakkad adjacent to the other day’s collapse site, had caved in during last year’s rains. The collapse of the national highway has been reported from the Vadakara Mukkali and Moorad sections of Kozhikode district. However, the reconstruction of the Moorad section has not yet been carried out. A new construction method has been adopted for Mukkali. The service road in Panthirankavu, Kodal and Nadakkavu has also collapsed. It has not been fully made fit for traffic. Waterlogging also occurred in many places due to lack of drainage in the main road. The only solution devised was to drain the water on to the service road using pipe. Many houses were flooded due to the closure of drainages. The new issues have been reported with the onset of rains this year. The service roads collapsed in Kasaragod’s Mavungal and Kozhikode’a Malaparamb the other day. A crack appeared in the road in Thalappara near Kuriad. The path is made at a good height here too. The locals had already pointed out the defects to the authorities long ago at all the places where various problems arose during the construction of the national highway. It is to be understood that those who were contracted to work on the various reaches did not consider the warnings at all. The locals had also pointed out a crack in the protective wall at Kuriyadu.

It was criticized previously that the national highway plan for Kerala was made without sufficient studies. The flaws point to the fact that there was some truth in it. It is doubtful whether the other state companies involved in construction have taken precautions to meet varying nature of soil in each district of the state. Climate change including torrential rains have not been considered. At several places the highway plunges to the depth of more than 10 meters. While in fields and crossings, it passes at a height of more than 10 meters. In low-lying areas no protective walls were set up. In such places, concrete mixture was poured in through pipes inserted inside. It remains to be seen how effective this method in our soil is. The Shirur landslide in Karnataka that claimed the lives of more than 10 people including Malayali Arjun should be taken as warning at this point. The Geological Survey of India in its report cited unscientific construction and heavy rains as the cause of the landslide in Shirur. Unscientific construction of roads by destroying hill have widely occurred in the national high development in Kerala. The land acquisition for the project became successful due to the state government's will and clarity in compensation. The construction of the national highway from Kasaragod to Kapirikkad in Malappuram is in the last phase. Construction is progressing in other districts as well. Defects have been found in it in many places. These incident should lead to inspecting and correcting everything from alignments to construction methods. A safety threat like the interlock block falling on a car traveling on the service road should also be taken very seriously. In short, the state government should task an expert committee to conduct a detailed statewide inspection of the construction of the national highway. Otherwise, not only will we not get the benefits of infrastructure development, but the national highway will also become an accident-prone path.