Protest against Wayanad highway traffic ban called off

The decision was taken by the all-party action council on Sunday after they got assurances from the state government.

The 11-day hunger strike in Wayanad, demanding the lifting of the night traffic ban along NH-766 — which passes through the Bandipur tiger reserve — has been called off. The decision was taken by the all-party action council on Sunday after they got assurances from the state government.

Ministers A K Saseendran and T P Ramakrishnan visited the venue of the indefinite hunger strike and told the agitators that the issue would be taken up with the Union government. They also said a senior lawyer would be assigned to represent Kerala in the SC, which is slated to review the traffic ban.

Wayanad has witnessed an unprecedented agitation over the last week against the ban, which has been in place for a decade. The immediate cause of the agitation was a recent SC direction to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change suggesting the building of an alternative road so that NH 766 could be shut during the day as well.