Road blockade against traffic ban

KALPETTA: Hundreds of people, including women, from Kozhikode and Wayanad districts participated in an eight-hour road blockade organised under the aegis of an all-party action council on the National Highway 212 at Muthanga in the district on Tuesday in protest against the ruling of the Karnataka High Court upholding the ban on night traffic in the Sulthan Bathery-Gundlepet stretch.

Inaugurating the blockade, C.K. Saseendran, CPI(M) district secretary, called for Centres intervention to revoke the ban. Mr. Saseendran said though the three States involved were opposed to the ban, the Karnataka High Court had imposed the ban.

Addressing the gathering, P.V. Gangadharan, president, Malabar Chamber of Commerce, and coordinator of the council, said considering the seriousness of the issue, the Attorney General should appear before the Supreme Court to solve the issue as it would adversely affect the public in three southern States.

The night traffic ban had further increased the prices of essential commodities, especially vegetables and fruits, he said. Mr. Gangadharan also called for public support on the issue.

Meanwhile, the Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi (KVVES) district committee, on Tuesday, decided to intensify the agitation against the night traffic ban.

As part of the agitation, all vegetable and fruit procurement from Karnataka for the State would be discontinued from April 15, K.K. Vasudevan, president of the Samithi district committee, told The Hindu after a meeting. He said the procurement of essential commodities would also be discontinued.