With potholes on roads making lives difficult for commuters and others, a group of people in Kerala's Malappuram resorted to a novel way of protest to draw attention of the authorities. Nazeem, a resident of Malappuram's Pandikkad gram panchayat, and some of his friends took bath in the potholes to lodge their protest even as the area MLA passed by the area. A video of the incident is being shared widely.
The video shows Nazeem sitting in a pothole when Manjeri MLA UA Latheef was crossing the area. As the MLA saw the protesters, he got down from his car to speak to them. Nazeem, however, refused to talk to him and stood in a Yoga pose in front of him to register his symbolic protest. He is earning praise on social media for his act.
Nazeem said their aim was to organise different kinds of protests so it catches the eyes of the public and the officials concerned. At least 10 of them planned similar kind of protests in various parts of Malappuram where the condition of roads had worsened in the past three months with rains only making matters worse.
Collectors Can't Remain Mute Spectators: Kerala HC
Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court directed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to complete within a week the maintenance work on all roads managed by it in the state.
The court instructed all district collectors to take appropriate action against engineers and contractors responsible for potholes on the roads. The court also made it clear that district collectors, as heads of the respective district disaster management authorities, also have a responsibility to ensure safety on the roads. Justice Devan Ramachandran asked if the authorities were waiting for a death to occur to finally act. "Collectors cannot remain mute spectators," the judge remarked.