People gather near wreckage of a car after it collided with a truck parked on the highway at Kaipamangalam, in Thrissur, On Sept 5
Thrissur : National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Wednesday said it had carried out the mandatory safety audit in Aug on the NH 66 stretch at Kaipamangalam, where a road accident claimed the lives of eight engineering students a few days ago. “NHAI has requested govt of Kerala to make the required land available vide letter dated Jan 10, 2025. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kochi | Silver Rate in Kochi | Bank Holidays in Kochi | Public Holidays in Kochi Stay updated with the latest Kochi news.
In a statement, NHAI said the reflective materials used on the road conform to the specified product requirements. On the deployment of route-patrol vehicles, NHAI said, “The subject stretch is presently under construction and user-fee collection hasn’t yet commenced. Accordingly, the provisions and service-level requirements specifically applicable to a user-fee-operating highway are not presently applicable to the said stretch. It is, however, pertinent to clarify that deployment of route-patrol vehicles alone cannot effectively prevent or regulate instances of illegal parking or unauthorised stopping along the highway,” it said. On providing parking facilities and amenities for heavy vehicles, NHAI said, “Parking bays have been provided at four locations along the corridor, along with the required directional signages, safety warnings and other necessary traffic-management provisions to facilitate safe parking and movement of heavy vehicles. On additional parking areas along the corridor, including associated amenities and facilities, NHAI said the availability of suitable land from the state govt was required. Further necessary action for the development of additional parking facilities will be taken by NHAI upon availability of the required land,” it said.
“Nevertheless, as part of the road-safety and traffic-management arrangements, route-patrol vehicles and an ambulance have been deployed along the stretch to respond to emergencies and provide necessary assistance to road users. Download the TOI App.