Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (EP)
Mangaluru, Oct 20: People from Mallikatte and other areas held a unique protest on Tuesday October 20 against the poor condition of roads in the city and the problems faced by people due to lack of planning during road construction. A man dressed in a skeleton costume was the centre of all attention, as he demonstrated the dangers posed by unscientific construction of the road and the median.
In a memorandum addressed to the deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district, they pointed out the unscientific manner in which the road and median have been constructed along the stretch from Vas Bakery to Mallikatte which was concreted recently. Accidents are common here due to construction of a median without widening the road, they said.
The traffic was smooth here earlier and the median has created problems. The median is cracked with vehicles hitting against it continuously, they complained.
"City buses plying on the route are proceeding through alternative road to prevent hassles causing hardship to commuters," they stated. The protesters demanded that the median be removed so that the road may be convenient to pedestrians, school children and senior citizens.
Meanwhile, Nagarika Hita Vedike in a memorandum addressed to TV and media reporters in Mangaluru stated the inadequacies in the city despite being identified for Smart City.
They said the city was facing a scarcity of suitable markets, service bus stand, parks for recreation, playgrounds for youth and swimming pools despite having upgraded as city corporation from town municipal council about three decades ago.
"The roads were concreted so that they do not wear away during the monsoons. However, there are many tarred roads in the city which have remained in good conditions without being made into a concrete road," they said.
"Why was the road dividers constructed without completion of four lane roads? Who is responsible for the deaths caused as a result of such dividers? Do the officials have the statistics of people who die in the accidents?" they asked in the memorandum.
"The Jeppu seminary road wash concreted four years ago. Why are there no dividers on the road? Why do the widths of the dividers vary from road to road? Why are narrow dividers constructed if the roads are broad and broad dividers if the roads are narrow?
"Has the corporation constructed and maintained roads as per the Indian Road Act? Has alternate transport arrangement been made for the people where the road work is in progress in their area? The concrete roads have caused uneven ground level in building and housing sites and senior citizens and physically challenged people face hardships while reaching the road from their houses. The concrete roads also have caused problems in the flow of polluted water and drainage," the Samiti complained.
"Road safety week is held every year spending lacs of tax payers' money. Is it not an annual drama? Is it not true that the chaos causes complex problems instead of reducing the accidents and traffic blocks?" the memorandum stated.
The memorandum was signed by locals also.