Thrissur accident: Kerala CM writes to Nitin Gadkari, seeks safety review of NH-66

Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan has urged Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari to conduct a comprehensive safety review of the National Highway 66 corridor in the state following the tragic accident at Kaipamangalam in Thrissur that claimed the lives of eight students.

In a letter on Monday, Satheesan sought strict measures to prevent the unauthorised and unsafe parking of construction vehicles and other heavy vehicles along all stretches of NH-66 where construction work was currently on.

The Chief Minister also asked Gadkari to direct the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to conduct an immediate, independent and comprehensive safety review following the tragedy. The accident, in which a car carrying students from Tamil Nadu rammed into a truck parked illegally on the highway, has raised serious concerns about road safety along NH-66.

“During the construction phase, thousands of people are compelled to travel every day through temporary diversions, narrowed carriageways, unfinished stretches and construction zones. These circumstances require the highest standards of traffic management and road safety,” he said.

Satheesan further called for an assessment of whether contractors and concessionaires are complying with the safety conditions and traffic-management plans prescribed by the NHAI. The effectiveness of supervision and monitoring by officials should also be examined, he said.

“The tragic incident at Thrissur should therefore be seen not merely as an isolated accident but as an opportunity to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the safety arrangements throughout the entire NH-66 corridor in Keralam,” he said, also calling for a thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to the accident.

The Chief Minister said the time-bound safety review should examine the adequacy of temporary traffic diversions, road lighting, warning signs, reflective markings, barricades, delineators, crash barriers and other safety arrangements, particularly at locations where traffic is diverted from the original carriageway.