Local ire slows survey work of airport road

KANNUR: The decision of the state government to go ahead with the land survey for the alignment of the new greenfield road from the proposed Kannur airport to Mattannur has drawn flak from the local residents.
The action committee formed to demand the widening of the existing road has alleged that the government is planning for new road to help the BOT company that is supposed to build the road.
On Tuesday, nearly 150 protestors including 50 women prevented the survey team to work at Muzhappala. Cops took them into custody and released them in the evening.
On Monday too over 85 protestors were held for obstructing the survey work.
Muhammed Ali, chairman of the action committee, who too was arrested, said that the state has already decided to go ahead with the work on new road by terming the expansion of existing road as costly.
He said that in an earlier survey done to check the feasibility to expand the existing road Natpac had said that Rs 229.5 crore was needed for the work. "Now they say it would cost more than Rs 1,000 crore. The state should make public the Natpac report," he said.
The action committee also added that the government first said that the survey would be conducted for a 45m-wide road.
"Now they are surveying the land for 150m-wide road. This is being done to help the BOT company to develop other commercial facilities," Ali alleged.
A private company, Ruby Soft Tech, has been given the responsibility of the survey.
They survey was stopped on a few occasions earlier too by the locals.