Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Jan 31: It is reliably learnt that because of tough resistance offered by those in Padubidri town, the public works department of the state has recommended to the National Highways Authority of India to lay a bypass road at Padubidri instead of broadening the present highway stretch. This bypass, as per current plans, will leave national highway near Garodi on Udupi side and end at the petrol bunk at Nadsal. In addition, an underpass will have to be provided for vehicles to take a diversion and move towards Karkala through Padubidri-Karkala road.

It may be recalled that opposition to both the options has been strong persistently. But the fact that many people, whose lands will be lost to the bypass road project, do not live here, has made the opposition to bypass road weaker in comparison, it is felt.

If the present highway was widened, the work could have been finished within a cost of one crore rupees as the total length of the town is less than a km. However, with the addition of 2.1 km more to the existing stretch, the expenditure for laying bypass will swell by 17 crore rupees.  Even in terms of land acquisition, it is learnt that most buildings in the town are on the encroached land, and hence, the government will have to pay minimum compensation if it opts to widen the highway in the town. On the other hand, acquisition of land for bypass road will entail land acquisition process, court litigations, and driving away a large number of people from their homes. The people in the bypass road route, who far outnumber the dwellers of the town, will also lose an opportunity to get high value for their lands once the bypass is laid.

The people, who are expected to lose lands because of the bypass road, now hope that the union ministry will not agree to the recommendations of the public works department. At the same time, the construction of a bypass can also affect the business of the establishments located in the town. Sadly, those whose lands are close by the proposed bypass hope that the prices of their land will shot up meteorically once the road is laid. Hence they are not opposing the proposed bypass plan.