Report and Pics by Hemanath Padubidri
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (RD/SP)
 
Udupi, Jul 13: The locals in Padubidri in the taluk stopped the shoddy work of Public Works Department (PWD) on Monday July 13 morning, when it’s workmen tried to fill the potholes on National Highway (NH) 17, with the gravel sourced from quarry. 
 

The stretch of nearly 60 kilometers of NH 17, from Mangalore to city has withered, owing to the incessant rains since the last over two weeks, apart from the movementof heavy trucks.  Meanwhile, the public works department (PWD) workmen were found to be filling the potholes on the highway with the gravel, since two days.  The locals on Monday July 13, protested the PWD workmen’s act of filling the potholes with gravel, as  it worsens the highway travel by creating a number of potholes and muck.  The iron-ore laden trucks plying on NH 17 with excess payload of many tonnes have been thoroughly damaging the highway, they noted.   As a result, several culverts that had been laid nearly five decades ago in the undivided Dakshina Kannada district, are on the verge of breaking down.
 
The locals urged PWD to fill the potholes with granite jelly and asphalt the same spots, paving the way for smooth traffic. Owing to the strong protest by the locals, PWD workmen retreated from the spot discontinuing their work.