Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu Road work to begin today amid row over second stretch

The Hindu

8 hours ago

With the inauguration of the work on the first phase of the Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu Road scheduled for Monday (June 16, 2025), a controversy has erupted over the project being developed in two parts, one by the State and the other by the Centre.
The Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu Road project has a history spanning over 15 years, marked by several protests led by the Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu Road Action Committee. The estimated cost of the project is ₹481.94 crore, of which the State has sanctioned ₹344.5 crore in various phases.
However, the current development under the City Roads Improvement Project covers only the 5.32 km stretch from Mananchira to Vellimadukunnu, while no action has been taken on the remaining 3 km from Malaparamba to Vellimadukunnu, which forms part of National Highway 766. The estimated cost of the 5.32-km stretch is ₹80 crore.
The Opposition has alleged that the government has misled the public by failing to develop the second part of the road as promised earlier.
District Congress Committee (DCC) president K. Praveen on Saturday demanded an explanation from the Public Works department on the issue and questioned the exclusion of Kozhikode MP M.K. Raghavan from the inauguration function scheduled for Monday morning. He pointed out that it was Mr. Raghavan who had taken the initiative for the project and that it was former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy who had first allocated funds for the road development.
On the other hand, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] district committee defended Minister for Public Works P.A. Mohamed Riyas, claiming that the development of the second stretch of the road could not be carried out as the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had not granted the State government permission to proceed.
CPI(M) district secretary M. Mehaboob on Sunday (June 15, 2025) appreciated the State government for proceeding with the development of the first reach instead of waiting for the Centre's approval for the second. He termed the allegations made by the Congress as politically motivated. The CPI(M) claimed that the stretch from Malaparamba to Vellimadukunnu was planned to be developed as part of the NH-766 project, which runs from Kollegal in Karnataka to Kozhikode. However, since the work had not been scheduled yet, the State government would request that the second stretch be handed over to it.