Joseph Kanakamotta, the man behind major development projects such as hill highways connecting towns from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram, died at the age of 92 at his house at Malakkalm here on Monday.
The funeral will be held at Lourde Matha Church at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. He is survived by wife Aliyamma, a retired teacher, and children Jessi Joseph, Santosh Joseph, T.J. Prakash, Valsamma Joseph, and Sathyan Joseph.
Born to farmer couple Ouseph and Annamma at Ettumanur in Kottayam district on March 7, 1928, he was instrumental in forming the Kasaragod District Hill Area Development Committee to push developmental projects in the hill panchayats of the district.
It was in 1960 that for the first time he proposed the plan of hill highway to the government. Though many did not take it seriously, he persisted with his vision of the project. His efforts succeeded, and the government in 1977 approved the hill highway project. In 2005, funds were sanctioned, and work began.
Railway project
It was under him the committee proposed the Kanhangad-Kaniyur railway line in 1977 and the Kanhangad-Bagamandalam-Mysuru-Chennai highway, which is still under the consideration of the government.
