Kerala - Palakkad   

Traffic jam the bane of Walayar

PALAKKAD: The year-long modernisation drive as part of a ‘corruption-free Walayar check-post’ campaign has helped to bring down corruption at the inter-State check-posts, but for passengers passing through NH-47 at Walayar, it continues to be a nightmare with frequent traffic jams and road blocks.

On Sunday evening, passengers coming from Coimbatore to Palakkad and those leaving the State were held in traffic jam at Walayar for four hours, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. This led to some of the passengers blocking the highway for half an hour and the Walayar police charging cases against a few of them. More than 1,000 vehicles lined up from Chavady in Tamil Nadu to the check-post, covering a distance of nearly 5 km, blocking the entire highway.

The chaos has thrown to wind the much publicised ‘green channel’ system in Walayar, meant for the smooth passage of passenger vehicles.

Since Palakkad does not have specialised medical facility, especially during emergency, the people here have to cross the border to reach super-specialty hospitals in Coimbatore. On a number of occasions, ambulances with patients have been held up in traffic jams for hours together. A couple of policemen who are on duty often find it difficult to maintain order.

When the government began widening the road at Walayar and providing more infrastructure facilities, including computerisation of the main commercial taxes check-post, it was felt that there would be speedy clearance of goods vehicles. But things prove otherwise. For the widening of the highway at the check-post an amount of Rs.26.50 lakh has been spent in the last one year.

The development works and modernisation drive as part of the second stage of the corruption-free Walayar campaign will be inaugurated by Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan at Walayar on August 24. Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, who has taken keen interest in ending corruption at Walayar and other check-posts, is a regular visitor to Palakkad to monitors the progress of the drive, During the last one year the government has taken steps to provide enough staff to manage the check-posts, which include those of the Commercial Taxes, Motor Vehicle, Excise and Forest departments. In the Commercial Taxes check-post new posts of 36 commercial taxes inspector, six posts of clerks and 45 peons have been created.

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