Daijiworld Media Network—Udupi (MM/CN)
Pics: Durga Digitals

Udupi, Aug 4: A huge eucalyptus tree rolled on to the National Highway (NH) 17 at Koppalangady on Saturday, August 2, just a few hours before the entourage of chief minister B Y Yeddyurappa was to pass by. This sent the police personnel into a tizzy. 

The incident occurred around 8.15 pm on Saturday, despite no sign of gales and only moderate showers in the region. Traffic came to a standstill resulting in a pile-up on either direction of the highway.

The police, who were posted along the highway since 3.30 pm, awaiting the chief minister and his retinue on their way to Kollur, rushed to the spot and managed to clear the tree by chopping off the branches.  Locals also joined the effort to clear the tree ahead of the minister’s arrival.

Girish, deputy superintendent of police, Karkala, M Nagaraj, deputy superintendent of police,Udupi, Joy Antony, sub-inspector, Kaup, N C Ganesh, sub-inspector, Shirva, and other senior police officers led the operation. Yeddyurappa reached Kollur at 11.15 pm on Saturday via this route and camped at tourists’ bungalow in Udupi.