Efforts on to make Thamarassery pass completely motorable: Kerala Revenue Minister

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 29 (PTI) Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan on Friday said that all efforts were being made to ensure that the Thamarassery pass, a major link between the districts of Wayanad and Kozhikode, becomes completely motorable as early as possible.

The minister said that a meeting of the Collectors and other top officials of Kozhikode and Wayanad districts was convened by him on Thursday and during the discussions, experts opined that it has to be determined how far down the crack on the hilltop near the pass has extended.

To determine that, a few hours dry spell is required so that the appropriate equipment can be used to carry out the inspections, he told a TV channel.

Rajan said that as an interim measure, when the intensity of the rains goes down, light vehicles can be allowed to move through the pass on a single lane. However, it would not be possible to allow heavy vehicles on that route.

He said that a road through Kuttiyadi in Wayanad district will be made motorable to act as an alternative route.

Rajan said that landslides had occurred at Kuttiyadi also, but the debris had been removed to make the road motorable. But, in order to accommodate the increase in traffic there, if the Thamarassery pass needs any work, the Public Works Department has been directed to make necessary repairs to the Kuttiyadi road, the minister said.

He further said that after the landslides on the pass on August 26, the debris were cleared and the road was made motorable by the next day.

Subsequently, fresh landslides on Thursday forced them to stop traffic on the route as a crack was seen on the rock face with water streaming down from it.

"Safety of travellers is a major concern and we cannot disregard that for some interim relief on account of onam celebrations as a major mishap could occur," Rajan said.

He expressed hope that the pass will become motorable for heavy vehicles by Friday afternoon.

On Thursday, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra requested Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to ensure that traffic movement is quickly restored on the Thamarassery pass.

Priyanka, in a letter, had also urged Gadkari to immediately send an expert committee to Wayanad to study the necessary measures required to prevent the repeated instances of landslides on the Thamarassery pass, the only refuge of the people of the hill district. PTI HMP HMP KH