Udupi: Blast at construction site damages houses, locals protest

Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi

Udupi, Apr 6: Several houses were reportedly damaged in a minor blast that occured at a construction site at Vibhudapriya Nagar, Manipal near here Saturday April 6.

The blast occured during work on the second phase of the work on a building said to be owned by BJP district Yuva Morcha president Vilas Nayak.

The first phase of the work was completed only a few days ago.

Due to the blast, stones and rocks flew all over the place and damaged houses belonging to Krishna Nayak, Dinesh, Susheela, Naveen, Cheenunayak, Usha and Pushpa Nayak in the vicinity.

The residents alleged that stones rained on the house as soon as the blast occured, damaging their houses. No injury was reported.

The locals said that they heard a loud sound and ran out of their houses in fear.

They also claimed that there was no prior warning about the blast, in which case they said they would have prepared in advance.

The locals also alleged that the building is being constructed illegally without permission as the owner has political influence.

This apart, the people complained that due to the construction work, there is lot of dust and noise pollution and they are unable to sleep peacefully at night.

The workers at the site, fearing outbreak of violence, escaped from the spot. Vilas Nayak too did not visit.

A case has been registered in the Manipal police station. The locals also urged the deputy commissioner to take action in the matter.