The pothole-ridden National Highway 47 has taken a heavy toll of KSRTC, causing an estimated monthly loss of Rs 1.05 crore for plying between Thrissur and Palakkad. As a result, KSRTC Thrissur zonal officer Easter Yashika has requested the authorities to divert the interstate and super-fast services via Shoranur- Ottappalam instead of the present Alathur- Kuzhalmandham route.
“It takes more than three hours to reach Palakkad from Thrissur. Traffic along the road, riddled with potholes, is a rough ride even for expert drivers. Gaping holes, filled with water and often two to three feet deep, is a nightmare for drivers, especially after sunset.
Other motorists are taking a diversion, preferring the Palakkad-Ottappalam-Shoranur- Wadakkanchery- Thrissur route to avoid NH 47. But we have no option. Almost all the buses operating on this route had to undergo repairs since the onset of the monsoon. We cannot operate like this any more,” says Yashika.
KSTRC executive director K.M. Irshad said that the decision to divert super-fast and inter-state services is under consideration. So rough is the stretch from Thrissur to Palakkad that many KSRTC bus drivers are in bed due to back pain. Some 234 buses make the trip to and fro daily according to KSRTC zonal office sources.
To protest the dangerous condition of the road, an indefinite strike will begin on August 1.
Deccan Chronicle
