Vypin: Unchecked overgrowth along the State Highway has swallowed roadside shoulders, blocking paths and forcing pedestrians - including schoolchildren - to walk directly on the carriageway amid speeding traffic, posing a severe safety hazard. Highway widening carried out years ago had already eaten into pedestrian space along several stretches. While recent beautification drives introduced paved, tiled walkways in select areas, stretches left unpaved have now been completely overtaken by thickets of wild grass and weeds.

In bottlenecks like Pallippuram, where the road is already dangerously narrow, the encroaching undergrowth leaves pedestrians with no choice but to step into the line of moving traffic. Residents allege that both the Public Works Department (PWD) and the local panchayat have shown gross apathy in clearing the brush. Despite panchayat members raising the issue repeatedly, authorities are yet to act. Demands are now mounting to deploy employment guarantee (MGNREGS) workers to clear the roadsides. Similar overgrowth on the approach roads of bridges - particularly the Munambam–Malyankara and Cherai bridges - has only compounded the risk of collisions.

The roadside thickets have also become a convenient screen for illegal waste dumping. Motorists frequently pull over to discard domestic and food waste into the bushes, drawing packs of stray dogs and rodents to the corridor and turning these patches into ideal breeding grounds for venomous snakes.

Along Beach Road, tall wild grass on both flanks is severely blinding motorists. Although cleared sporadically, maintenance remains erratic. In several spots, the weed stands man-high, leaning heavily into the lane. Given the already constrained width of Beach Road, the invading greenery has narrowed it to a point where a single car can barely squeeze past.

The overgrown bushes also obscure oncoming traffic at blind curves. With houses situated right along the roadside, drivers cannot spot children or pedestrians stepping out until it is too late. The hazard is aggravated at night along stretches without functioning streetlights. Motorists also frequently complain of thick, stiff brush scraping and scratching the paint off their vehicles.