Thrissur: The Kerala High Court on Monday chose not to lift the interim stay on toll collection at the Paliyekkara toll plaza along National Highway-544, citing continuing concerns over poor road conditions and traffic congestion. 

The decision comes just a week after a newly constructed road near the Muringoor service road collapsed, raising serious concerns about the quality of construction and safety.

A Division Bench comprising Justices A Muhamed Mustaque and Harisankar V Menon had earlier stated that it would pass an order today allowing toll collection to resume. However, the bench postponed its decision after the Thrissur District Collector confirmed the collapse of a section of the service road at Muringoor.

“Today we proposed to pass an order after verifying the Committee’s report. It is now reported that at Muringoor, a service road collapsed which was tapped one week ago, and the Collector has confirmed the same. NHAI submits that the collapsed portion has been restored. The Court directs NHAI to submit a report, for the Committee to verify. Posted the matter to Thursday," the Court noted in its order.

Although the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) informed the court that the damaged section had been restored, the Court directed NHAI to submit a fresh report, which will be reviewed by the Interim Traffic Management Committee. The matter has been posted for further hearing on Thursday.

Background: Why was toll suspended?

Toll collection at the Paliyekkara plaza was suspended on August 6 following multiple petitions highlighting severe traffic bottlenecks and unsafe road conditions along the Edappally–Mannuthy stretch of NH-544. Ongoing overbridge construction and incomplete roadworks were cited as major causes of commuter inconvenience and safety risks.