Road Action Committee decides to temporarily call off the agitation programmes

Kozikode: The Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Road Action Committee has decided to temporarily call off the agitation programmes, including a relay hunger strike that was scheduled to begin on Friday, following a decision by the Cabinet on Wednesday to sanction Rs.25 crore for the initial works of the road widening project that was getting delayed inordinately.

The decision was communicated to the committee through M.K. Raghavan, MP, by Minister for Panchayats M.K. Muneer.

Draft declaration

Briefing the media, committee president and historian M.G.S. Narayanan said the Chief Minister had entrusted Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash with the responsibility of supervising the timely progress of the work. “The Minister has to ensure that the project, a draft declaration of which will expire in April, is saved and the works progressed on a war footing,” Dr. Narayanan said.

The action committee members had staged a hunger strike in front of the Collectorate here on Wednesday alleging indifference on the part of the district administration in starting the work, including land acquisition for the project, on time. The strike was called off by the committee after discussing the outcome of the Cabinet decision on Wednesday with its members, said M.P. Vasudevan, general secretary of the committee.

The committee, however, voiced its apprehensions about the “efficiency” of the present district administration in executing the project in time. Dr. Narayanan urged the government to consider making necessary changes in the district administration to ensure that the project was carried forward efficiently. “There is only around 70 days left before the draft declaration expires and only an extremely efficient leadership can salvage it,” he said.