UDF councillors halt railway compound wall work citing obstruction to Kannur road development

Construction of a railway compound wall allegedly obstructing road development in Kannur city was halted on Wednesday (January 14, 2026) following a protest by United Democratic Front (UDF) councillors and the Congress Block Committee.

The protest took place near the Kannur underbridge, betweenthe old bus stand and Muneeswaran temple area, where Railway authorities had begun building a compound wall by digging a trench, which civic representatives said would impede the proposed road development works of the Kannur Corporation.

Despite the Corporation submitting a letter under the leadership of Mayor P. Indira earlier demanding that the works be stopped, the Railways reportedly continued the construction. The Mayor along with the councillors had reached the site and temporarily halted the construction on Monday (January 12, 2026).

The Mayor had demanded that the construction be resumed after leaving sufficient space to facilitate the road development works and to address the persistent waterlogging near the underbridge. She had also held discussions with the Railway officials. However, the construction, which was stopped following the Mayor’s intervention, resumed again on Wednesday without meeting any of the demands.

In response, the Congress Block Committee and the UDF councillors launched a protest at the site. Following an intervention by Kannur MP K. Sudhakaran, who contacted the officials over the phone, the authorities agreed to temporarily suspended the work until a decision is taken the next day. The protest was subsequently called off. The agitation was led by block Congress president Kayakkal Rahul, district secretary M.K. Mohanan and others.