A Congress party delegation led by Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here to discuss various issues including post-flood relief and rehabilitation efforts in the south Indian state. “We discussed issues of flood relief and rehabilitation efforts and the issue of night traffic ban on the forest stretch of NH-766, along with other general issues,” Rahul Gandhi told media persons after meeting the chief minister at Kerala House here. The Congress delegation comprising Rahul, Congress general secretary K Venugopal and Kozhikode MP M K Raghavan discussed issues relating to night traffic ban on the Kozhikode-Kollegal National Highway 766 and the implications of the proposed alternative route. On Sunday Rahul Gandhi had tweeted in solidarity with youths who were on an indefinite hunger strike since September 25th to protest against the daily 9-hour traffic ban on NH-766 “that has caused immense hardship to lakhs of people in Kerala and Karnataka.” Also, the Congress delegation discussed with the Kerala chief minister about the possibility of introducing mitigation measures such as eco-bridges and underpasses to reduce disturbance to wildlife. The Congress members also took stock of the post-flood relief and rehabilitation efforts of the state government and urged the Chief Minister to ensure timebound payment of compensation and rolling out flood mitigation measures. The Chief Minister briefed the delegation regarding the ongoing post-flood relief and rehabilitation efforts, and challenges faced by the state government. Vijayan said that he is committed to work towards finding a solution to end the hardship faced by the local communities due to the night traffic ban, while safeguarding the protection of wildlife in the protected areas.
