Daijiworld Media Network - Beltangady

Beltangady, Sep 17: Just as public outrage over a recent Sullia road project—where five electric poles were left stranded right in the middle of a newly concreted stretch—was beginning to die down, a strikingly identical engineering blunder has surfaced in Sukkeri, exposing blatant negligence by local officials and engineers.

Near the bridge along the route stretching from Sukkeri's Sri Rama School to the Atrinje Koraga Colony, a road concreting project was executed without clearing an obstructing electric pole. Leaving the utility pole trapped dead-center in the newly paved road has sparked furious reactions from local residents.

The infrastructure project was carried out by the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited (KRIDL) utilising funds released under the comprehensive tribal development programme. Because this route functions as a crucial lifeline for the Atrinje Koraga Colony, locals had eagerly anticipated smooth and seamless connectivity. Instead, charging ahead with the concreting work while completely ignoring the pole relocation has invited widespread public condemnation.

Adding a baffling twist to the lapse, official clearance to shift the electric pole was granted as early as June 9, 2025, with the corresponding tender process for the relocation already finalised. Pressing ahead with the paving work regardless has raised serious, unanswered questions regarding administrative accountability.