Public outrage grows over delay in reconstruction of Wayanad's Meppadi-Chooralmala road

Nellimunda: “For eight long years, we’ve endured waterlogged craters during the monsoons and suffocating dust through the summers along this road. We have reached our breaking point. We won't back down from this protest until there is a concrete solution,” vented Salim Thayyil, a local resident.

Public fury spiralled yesterday during a road blockade staged by an action committee at Nellimunda, demanding immediate steps to fast-track the painfully sluggish renovation of the Meppadi–Chooralmala Road.

The blockade, which began at 7:00 a m, dragged on until 1:00 p m, bringing traffic to a standstill. Protesters initially dug in their heels, demanding that District Collector V Chelsasini arrive in person for discussions. The demonstration gathered momentum with the arrival of District Panchayat Vice President T Hamsa and Meppadi Panchayat President Ramla Hamsa, who voiced their solidarity, prompting a police contingent from Meppadi to deploy to the spot.

The breakthrough came after five agonizing hours when the district administration finally agreed to negotiate. Additional District Magistrate (ADM) K Ajeesh arrived at the scene around noon and gave firm assurances to the crowd, such as the first phase of work barring three specific bottlenecks will be wrapped up by November 30; the relocation of roadside utility poles will commence tomorrow; the Jalanidhi pipeline laying will be completed immediately; and the entire road modernization will be delivered by December 31. On the assurances of these commitments, the agitation was formally called off.

The overhaul, which first commenced back in 2018, has already burned through crores of rupees across multiple piecemeal phases for routine patchwork and repairs. The project is currently contracted to the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS).

ULCCS took charge of the work in 2023, originally setting a completion deadline of May 15, 2025. However, progress hit a major roadblock when the workforce had to be pulled away for the priority construction of a rehabilitation township for survivors of the Mundakkai–Chooralmala landslide disaster.

The Meppadi–Chooralmala stretch serves as an indispensable lifeline. It is the sole access route to disaster-hit zones such as Attamala, Mundakkai, Chooralmala, and Puthumala, major plantation belts including Kalladi, Meenakshi Estate, and Elavayal, as well as renowned tourist destinations like the Soochipara Waterfalls and the adventure hotspot Thollayiram Kandi.

Residents lament that traversing this 12.8-kilometre stretch between Chooralmala and Meppadi now takes an agonizing hour and a half. Commuter misery is at an all-time high between Puthumala and Neelikkappu as heavy clouds of kicked-up dust reduce visibility so drastically that oncoming vehicles can barely be seen.

The road project has long been jinxed by setbacks, including delays in acquiring estate land, the untimely demise of a previous contractor, the blacklisting of a construction firm, and an interdepartmental feud between the Irrigation and Public Works Departments (PWD) over laying pipelines for the Karapuzha drinking water scheme. Although protracted negotiations finally persuaded private estate owners to surrender the required land across 2023 and 2024, the anticipated acceleration of the work never materialized leaving residents to pay the price.