New Delhi, Dec 5 (LatestNewsX) – K.C. Venugopal, AICC general secretary and chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), castigated the Kerala government and national highway officials on Friday after another retaining wall gave way on the under‑construction stretch near Kottiyam in Kollam.
He described the incident as “an unending saga of collapses,” saying it exposed serious safety lapses and deep‑rooted corruption in the highway’s execution.
Speaking to reporters, Venugopal recalled inspecting a similar collapse in North Kerala earlier and having raised the issue at a PAC meeting. “They had admitted there was a lapse in the way things happened,” he said. “Now today the same thing occurred at Kottiyam in Kollam. This is not an accident in isolation. It reflects a pattern. It raises grave concerns about the quality of construction and the lack of oversight,” he added.
Venugopal warned that this latest failure should serve as a wake‑up call to both the Union and state governments, noting that continued negligence could endanger lives. “This is a serious issue of safety. This is nothing but corruption,” he alleged.
He also slammed the Kerala government for its misplaced priorities, arguing that officials were only keen to finish the project for political gain, especially with elections approaching. “They are looking to take credit only,” Venugopal said, stressing that hasty project execution cannot come at the expense of public safety.
With several collapses reported across the state in recent years—from Kozhikode to Kannur to Kollam—the PAC will revisit the matter and seek accountability from all involved agencies. “Those responsible for repeated failures must be identified, and action must follow. Public money and public safety are both at stake,” he emphasized, noting that district collectors play a crucial role in the project’s oversight.
A woman, passing by in a car when the incident occurred, described the experience as shocking. “It was horrible. I stopped the car and ran to safety. The road was cracking, and the side walls and the electric posts were shaking,” she recalled.
Meanwhile, State PWD Minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas has requested an immediate report on the incident from the relevant authorities. sg/dan
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