THUCKALAY: A college student was killed in an accident after a Taurus lorry carrying minerals rammed into the motorcycle from behind near Thuckalay while being taken to the railway station by her father, on Thursday night.
Naam Tamilar Katchi’s (NTK) Padmanabhapuram constituency candidate Seelan and party members, who were present there for election work, rushed to the spot and staged a road blockade.
The deceased, identified as Katlin Abina (19), of Kanniyakumari, was studying first-year BSc Physics at St Joseph’s College in Tiruchy and staying in the hostel. She had come to her native place last week, and her father, Christuraj (48), a soldier from Chitratrankarai area near Kaliyakkavilai, who was serving in Arunachal Pradesh, had recently come to Kochi camp for training and had come home three days ago to see his daughter.
As she had to return to college to write examinations, Christuraj took her on his motorcycle to the railway station at Nagercoil. When they were passing in front of Thuckalay police station, a Taurus lorry carrying minerals and heading towards Nagercoil rammed into the motorcycle from behind.
In the impact, Abina, who was riding pillion, fell on the right side of the road, and the lorry ran over her. She died on the spot, while Christuraj escaped with minor injuries.
Thuckalay police sent the body for a post-mortem. Naam Tamilar Katchi members, who were present there, staged a road blockade by stopping more than 10 mineral-laden lorries on the national highway, affecting traffic.
The police held talks, and later an agreement was reached. The protest was called off. Traffic was disrupted on the NH for more than an hour. The police arrested the lorry driver, Prakash (55) of Amman Koil Street, Nellai.
Following a ban on heavy vehicles transporting minerals to Kerala through Kanniyakumari, lorries were seen lined up along the roadside in Aralvaimozhi.
Every day, hundreds of heavy vehicles carrying minerals pass through a four-lane road in Aralvaimozhi. At times, accidents occur due to speeding heavy vehicles, leading to loss of life.
In view of the recent college girl’s death on Thursday and the continuous accidents involving heavy vehicles, the district administration imposed a ban on transporting minerals through Kanniyakumari district to Kerala until the ongoing road work from Kaliyakkavilai to Kanniyakumari is completed and becomes operational. The order was issued by District Collector Alagu Meena.
Due to this, mineral-laden lorries could not cross Aralvaimozhi and were halted near the police station checkpost and along the four-lane road checkpost area. Lorries that had completed weighing were parked along the roadside near the checkpost, while those yet to be weighed were stationed near the weighbridge. At both places, vehicles were lined up for nearly 2 km.