Kerala - Alappuzha   

Bypass action council plans agitation

ALAPPUZHA: The Action Council formed in Alappuzha to exert pressure on the State and Union governments to speed up work on the inordinately-delayed Alappuzha Bypass is finally moving into action mode.

According to Municipal Chairman P.P. Chittaranjan, who is spearheading the movement, the action council will conduct public conventions at ward levels in the municipality on November 17 and 18 to sensitise the public on the issue.

A mass signature campaign on November 24 and 25 would follow.

By the month-end, the action council will head to New Delhi to meet and submit memoranda to the Prime Minister, Union Ministers A.K. Antony and Vayalar Ravi, both of whom are from Alappuzha and also other ministers and officials concerned, Mr. Chittaranjan said.

A human chain will be organised on December 10. The chain, to stretch from Kalarcode to Thumboli, will be followed by the second phase of the agitation, which according to Mr. Chittaranjan, will include hunger strikes and similar ‘intense protest modes.’

The bypass, for which land was acquired 30 years ago, is from Kommadi on the north of Alappuzha town to Kalarkode in the south.

Only the 3.73 km-long first phase of the 7.58 km two-lane bypass has been completed, and that took nearly 18 years.

The remaining 3.85 km, including 1.1 km alongside the Alappuzha beach, has been lying in uncertainty for several years now.

The necessity for completing the bypass has been growing by the day, the Municipal Chairman said, pointing out that with Alappuzha being a developing town, traffic congestions and accidents due to narrow roads and inadequate roadways were on the rise.

“This action council is a rare phenomenon, and perhaps the first of its kind after the public movement that fought for the formation of the Alappuzha district more than 50 years ago. We intend to carry it forward till we achieve the aim. The bypass is the only solution to the problems plaguing Alappuzha now,” he said.

A public meeting held here on Friday discussed the agitation plans and elicited huge public support for the movement.

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