Temporary ban on toll collection at Paliyekkara to continue

Kochi: The ban on toll collection at Paliyekkara in Thrissur will continue after the Kerala High Court declined to revoke its earlier order. The decision was taken after petitioners informed the court that the service road at Muringoor on the national highway was damaged, affecting traffic.

The road, built to ease congestion, had sunk on Sunday. The division bench of Justices A Muhammed Mustaque and Harisankar V Menon, hearing petitions on severe traffic along the Mannuthy–Edappally stretch of NH 544, will take up the case again on Thursday. The court directed the Thrissur district collector to inspect Muringoor and submit a report.

"Today, we proposed to pass an order after verifying the report of the Interim Committee. We are deferring it in view of intervening factors reporting that the Muringoor service road, tarred just a week ago, has collapsed," the bench said.

Last week, the Interim Traffic Management Committee, chaired by District Collector Arjun Pandian, told the court that repair works flagged earlier had been completed satisfactorily and expressed satisfaction with the progress.

The High Court had initially suspended toll collection for four weeks on August 6, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court on August 18 and extended subsequently. The bench had earlier indicated it might lift the suspension, but today’s proceedings were postponed due to the collapsed service road.

The Interim Committee was set up to implement a temporary traffic plan and inspect the stretch. It had previously noted issues with uneven surfaces and culvert works. The NHAI was directed to submit a compliance report to the District Collector and the committee.
(With LiveLaw inputs.)