Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has promised that talks will soon be initiated with the Tamil Nadu government to convince them about the importance of opening the Mulli route for tourists from Kerala.
Addressing a zonal review meeting held in Thrissur on Friday for Palakkad and Malappuram districts, in which several Ministers took part, the Chief Minister expressed hope that the Tamil Nadu government would open the Mulli route, through the forest, to Ooty.
The Tamil Nadu government has been denying permission at Mulli for vehicles from Kerala reaching through Thavalam in Attappady.
The closure of the Mulli check-post by the Tamil Nadu government had led to protests by people at Attappady. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] organised a march and dharna at Mulli demanding the reopening of the check-post.
It has been nearly two years since Tamil Nadu closed the check-post at Mulli on the Attappady-Ooty road, forcing the people living in the region to depend on longer routes.
CPI(M) district secretary E.N. Suresh Babu had inaugurated the dharna organised by the party Pudur local committee. Mr. Babu warned of strengthening the agitation if the Tamil Nadu government did not open the check-post.
The State government had recently renovated the road from Attappady to Mulli by spending ₹140 crore.
New block at hospital
Health Minister Veena George promised that the construction work on a new block at the Palakkad District Hospital would be completed soon. She said that the medicine store at the hospital would be shifted within a month.
The Chief Minister said that the renovation work on the Attappady ghat road would be completed by August 2024. The government had sanctioned ₹4.99 crore for setting up a dam-view park at the Moolathara regulator. The permission for the remaining phase of the indoor stadium work would be given in a month, the Chief Minister told the meeting.
