Thiruvananthapuram, May 29 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday that he was trying to meet with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to discuss the recent collapse of a section of National Highway 66 in Malappuram, but added that such issues are part of the construction process.
Vijayan, responding to reporters’ queries on the issue at a press conference here, said that such incidents do not mean that the NH project will cease to exist as these are construction related issues and the country has the technical expertise to resolve it.
Acknowledging that the collapse of the highway section was an “unexpected dangerous development”, he said he will try to meet with Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, in the first week of June to discuss the matter.
The Malappuram NH collapse incident and cracks appearing in other portions of the highways were being examined by experts and the National Highway Authority of India was taking steps with regard to that, the CM said.
When asked whether discussion of the issue during the upcoming bypoll for the Nilambur Assembly seat would affect the ruling front’s chances, Vijayan said that such matters are expected to be discussed in the polls and were not a matter of concern.
A political row erupted between the ruling Left front, the Congress-led UDF and the BJP, with each blaming the other, in the state following the collapse of a section of the under-construction National Highway 66.
Besides the NH collapse, there were cracks in parts of the road, and soil slips in areas where hills had been levelled for construction in central and northern Kerala after continuous rainfall last week.
The incidents were reported from Thrissur, Malappuram, and Kannur districts. PTI HMP HMP KH
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