UDF leaders posing a threat to motorists

THIRUVANATHAPURAM:  Attention motorists! Take care not to stray towards the edge of the road when you enter the stretch between LMS and Vellayambalam. For, if you ignore this warning, you would be thrashed by a smiling Oommen Chandy or  Ramesh Chennithala.They are accompanied by the other UDF leaders who took the oath of office the other day. For, their smiling faces depicted on the placards fixed on the tree trunks and lamp poles along the road are protruding on to the road and posing a threat to motorists.These placards were put up when the district leadership of the Congress party gave a reception to the UDF leaders who won the Assembly elections and found a place in the Cabinet.But all this happened when a ban, that clearly restricts putting up placards or sticking bills along the sides of the road, exists. The ban was imposed by the Kerala Road Fund Board according to the Kerala Road Safety Authority Act keeping in mind the safety of the motorists who ply along the road. However, the ban is seen flouted as the placards protrude  to the road, posing a danger to the motorists, especially two-wheeler riders.Besides putting up the placards, the district leadership of the Congress party has even forbidden the authorities from doing their duty of removing  the threat. The authorities, in this case the Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Limited (TRDCL) and the Kerala Road Fund Board, have said that they have their hands tied in this matter as any action from their part might be given a political angle."We have asked the party authorities to remove the placards. But they have flatly dismissed our request,’’ said a senior TRDCL official.The partymen are adamant that they would not remove the placards before Monday, when the rest of the Cabinet members would be sworn in. And they would not allow the TRDCL to remove the posters either, he said.  That means the threat to motorists would prevail for two more days.