The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is having a fresh look at the proposal of the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) to develop the Sulthan Bathery-Chikkabaragi-Begur-Mysore route to tide over the issue of the night travel ban on the Kozhikode-Kollegal National Highway 766 which passes through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve.
The development follows a recent meeting held in New Delhi among Union Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Nitin Gadkari and a delegation of the Wayanad Chamber of Commerce, the National Highway Protection Committee and the Nilgiris-Wayanad National Highway and Railway Action Committee.
Alternative route
The proposal for an alternative route has been mooted when the State government decided to upgrade the Mananthavady-Kutta-Gonikuppa road after completely closing the 19-km stretch through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve last year.
T.M. Rasheed, convener of the Nilgiris-Wayanad National Highway and Railway Action Committee, said the Mananthavady-Kutta-Gonikuppa road proposal had been discussed at a Secretary-level meeting of the State governments of Kerala and Karanataka.
This route was also agreed in principle after the apex court endorsed the decision, he said.
