Iritty: A meeting of the Iritty Taluk Development Committee has expressed concern over the Mother and Child Hospital (Mother-Child Protection Block), inaugurated five years ago within the Taluk Hospital, which remains non-operational.

The Committee also criticised the sluggish pace of construction of the new hospital complex being developed at an investment of ₹68 crore. Kerala Congress (M) representative Vipin Thomas raised the issue, citing the risks posed by the continued functioning of the hospital office, laboratory and other facilities in a building that the Public Works Department had ordered to be demolished.

The hospital superintendent attributed the delay in making the Mother-Child Protection Block operational to the unfilled vacancies of two doctors in the gynecology department. He added that appointments are also pending in the anesthesia department and additional staff need to be recruited. Despite multiple applications, these issues remain unresolved, the superintendent said.

Mattannoor Municipal Chairperson N Shajith, while participating in the discussion, stated that the inability to fill two gynecology posts in the Taluk Hospital is a serious concern. He said that many elected representatives avoid attending the Taluk Committee meetings, as decisions taken there often go unimplemented. He emphasised that the same issues raised in the Taluk Committee are being brought up in the District Planning Committee meetings as well.

Demand for 12-metre-wide road
The committee demanded immediate construction of the Kelakam–Kottiyoor stretch, part of the proposed Mananthavady–Mattannoor Airport Road project, with a width of 12 metres.

Congress representative P C Ramakrishnan urged that the current road width of 5.5 metres be expanded to 12 metres to alleviate traffic congestion en route to the Kottiyoor pilgrimage centre, especially since the four-lane airport road may take years to materialise. Sunny Joseph MLA, who presided over the meeting, insisted that this demand be submitted to the relevant authorities as the unanimous resolution of the Taluk Sabha.

The delay in completing the renovation of the Kottiyoor–Valayamchal parallel road, even after two years, drew sharp criticism. The MLA angrily questioned why developing an 11-kilometre stretch should take so long. The public might suspect that engineers are in collusion with contractors, he said. Public Works Department officials assured that the construction would be completed by December.

Criticism over delay in No-Objection Certificates
The meeting witnessed strong criticism regarding the delay in issuing No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) for constructing new buildings and houses near the Pazhassi project, despite the government having withdrawn the buffer zone order.

Thomas Varghese, representative of MLA Sajeev Joseph, accused the Pazhassi Irrigation Department of causing undue hardship to residents, even after the minister concerned had announced in the Assembly that the order had been revoked. Sunny Joseph MLA, who contacted Irrigation Minister Roshy Augustine during the meeting itself, said the minister assured that the issue would be addressed.

Police draw flak over traffic congestion
Mattannoor Municipal Chairperson N Shajith accused the police of negligence in addressing traffic congestion in Mattannoor town. He pointed out that vehicles are parked even in designated no-parking zones. Traffic is managed by just three or four home guards.

He noted that the entire police force of 52 officers at the station is deployed on the road only during VIP visits, while at other times, no personnel are visible in the town. The issue remains unaddressed despite a petition to the Koothuparambu ASP. The chairman announced that dividers would be installed near the fish market to ease congestion on the Iritty–Mattannoor Road.

NCP representative K P Shaji raised concerns about traffic issues in the region. Notably, no police representatives attended the meeting. MLA Sunny Joseph instructed the tahsildar to ensure the presence of the DySP in future meetings.

The meeting was attended by Iritty Block Panchayat President K Velayudhan, Thillankari Panchayat President P Sreemathy, and political representatives Ibrahim Munderi, Paayam Baburaj and Thomas Thayyil etc.