KALPETTA: Crossing the Thamarassery Ghat road, which connects Kozhikode and Wayanad, is an exercise that calls for much patience and pluck. The stretch is prone to traffic blocks that can take hours to clear. The situation gets worse on weekends or holidays when travel plans can get totally disrupted.
Delays can even be a matter of life and death for patients being moved for critical care to Kozhikode, for want of medical facilities in Wayanad. “Alternative routes are the only possible solution and the Centre announced development of the 109km-long Purakkattiri-Kuttiadi-Mananthavady-Mysuru stretch at a cost of `7,134 crore last January. The project will reduce the impact of the night travel ban at Bandipur Tiger Reserve.
An effective member of Parliament (MP) in Wayanad can help realise the project without much sweat. We have been agitating for various development projects in the district, including the Poozhithode-Padinjarathara road and an alternative Wayanad-Kozhikode route,” says Babu Philip, a social activist from Mananthavady. “For the past 25 years, we have been raising the issue of inadequate medical facilities in Wayanad,” says C D Saraswathi, head of the Sickle Cell Anaemia Patients Association.
“There are 1,050 patients, including over 600 tribal people, in Wayanad district suffering from the genetic disorder. We still depend on the Ghat road to reach Kozhikode MCH during emergencies,” she points out.“Mananthavady has a government medical college hosp.
