Following demands from various action councils, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will construct pedestrian underpasses (PUP) at four locations as six-lane expansion works progress on National Highway 66. The underpasses have been sanctioned at Neendakara, Parimanam, Kannetty, and Oachira. All the newly approved underpasses are located within the Kayamkulam Kottukulangara–Kollam Bypass reach. The new pedestrian underpasses will be constructed without making any modifications to the existing ongoing construction work.A few days back Kerala High Court had directed the NHAI to construct a pedestrian underpass at the busy Neendakara Junction. The court order brings a successful conclusion to a relentless, years-long public agitation demanding safe passage for thousands of daily commuters in the area.The struggle for the underpass began back in 2022 when residents from various parts of Neendakara repeatedly petitioned NHAI authorities, only to face continuous inaction. Frustrated by the apathy, locals formed the ‘Neendakara Footpath Action Council’ in April 2025 to intensify their movement. The council subsequently submitted a mass petition signed by nearly 3,000 residents to top NHAI officials, people’s representatives, and the Kollam District Collector. Despite strong backing from Kollam MP,N.K. Premachandran and former Chavara MLA,. Sujith Vijayan Pillai, the demand was initially ignored, forcing the Action Council to launch an indefinite protest under a makeshift tent at Neendakara Junction starting June 8, 2025.The Action Council later moved the Kerala High Court, filing a petition and NHAI argued that detailed scientific and technical feasibility studies were required to construct an underpass at Neendakara Junction.Striking down further delays, High Court intervened on March 24, 2026, strictly directing the NHAI’s legal team to ensure that whatever scientific study was required must be completed and its report submitted within a strict four-week deadline.Following the court’s summer recess through April and May, the case was taken up again on June 15, 2026. Later the NHAI counsel submitted a written undertaking to the High Court, confirming that based on the technical study and considering the intense public demand, a pedestrian underpass will be constructed at the specified location. Published - June 30, 2026 08:57 pm IST