Action committee flags delay in Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu road completion

Despite the inauguration of the four-lane Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu road ahead of the announcement of the Assembly elections, pending works are progressing slowly.

In a statement, the Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Road Action Committee demanded that the development of the stretch, which slowed down significantly after a “hurried inauguration”, be fully completed and that the 8.4-km road be named after historian M.G.S. Narayanan.

Committee president Mathew Kattikana and general convener M.P. Vasudevan urged political front candidates in the Kozhikode North Assembly constituency to publicly declare their stand on the matter before voters. It noted that M.G.S., a renowned historian of national and international repute, had led protests for the road even at the age of 88, faced arrest, and accepted court punishment as part of the struggle.

Although the stretch from Mananchira to Malaparamba has been opened to traffic, several works remain incomplete. These include construction of the median, covering of canals and drains with slabs, footpath construction, installation of streetlights, construction of a foot overbridge at Civil Station and BMBC tarring. Bus bays, U-turn lanes and pedestrian crossing markings have also not been provided.

The committee pointed out that work on the Malaparamba–Vellimadukunnu stretch had only just begun. “It is understood that land acquisition involving SBI at Mananchira and Kunnath Textiles at Eranhipalam has not yet been completed,” the statement said.

Since the partially completed road has been opened fully to traffic, vehicles are moving at excessive speeds without any regulation. Authorities will be held responsible for any accidents resulting from this situation, the statement added. After long delays and massive protests, the first phase of the four-lane Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu road was opened to traffic on March 9.

The proposal to widen the existing Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu road was announced in the 2008-09 State Budget. Though the draft declaration was issued in 2013, it took several years to complete land acquisition and the work on the first phase was launched only in June 2025.

A total of 8.39 km is being upgraded into four lanes with a width of 24 m under the Kozhikode City Road Development Project of the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB). In the first phase, the Mananchira-Malaparamba reach covers a distance of 5.32 km. It was completed at a cost of ₹76.90 crore.

The Malaparamba-Vellimadukunnu stretch has a total length of 3.02 km. It will be implemented at a cost of ₹50.49 crore.