Ramanattukara: The Kerala Police have failed to open an aid post below the flyover at Azhinjilam Junction despite receiving the necessary permissions from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) six months ago. The NHAI’s Kozhikode project office had officially issued the sanction to set up the police aid post at the junction, which is located in Malappuram district but is very close to the Kozhikode district border, to the Kondotty DySP in January.

The application for an aid post was submitted by the Kondotty DySP to the NHAI on December 22, 2025. While the NHAI responded positively within a couple of weeks, the police did not display their initial enthusiasm.

As per the police, lack of sufficient funds had led to the delay in starting an aid post. With the police failing to open an aid post below the flyover, the space has now become an unauthorised vehicle parking area.

The Ramanattukara stretch of the National Highway 66 between Parammal and Arappuzha is located in Malappuram district and the area under Vazhakkad panchayat comes under the Vazhakkad Police Station. Frequent accidents in which several lives were lost occurred in Parammal after the first phase of the national highway bypass was opened in 2002. Following which, the local people formed an action committee and submitted a petition to the Malappuram police superintendent to open an aid post. Subsequently, the police aid post was set up on the bypass at Parammal in June, 2008.

However, the aid post, which functioned temporarily in an IOC petrol pump building, was evicted six years ago as part of the expansion of the pump. Since then, no aid post has existed in Parammal.

The Kondotty DySP sought sanction from the NHAI to start an aid post at Azhinjilam following renewed demands in this regard, considering the opening of the six-lane national highway to traffic.

Currently, whenever an accident or other incident takes place on the six-lane NH between Parammal and Arappuzha, the police have to reach the spot from Vazhakkad, which is located 15 km away. Usually, a delay of at least 30 minutes occurs for the arrival of the police. So, in emergency situations, the police reach the NH at Azhinjilam from the Kozhikode city control room or Feroke police station in Kozhikode district.

Absence of the police aid post has also affected the night patrolling in areas such as Karad, Azhinjilam, Parammal, Puthukode, Karuman Kavu and Kuttoolangadi.