Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Dec 15: The people of the villages lining up the stretch of the national highway 48 that has been taken up for widening, have become impatient over the sluggish pace of the work being undertaken, particularly between Nantoor and Tumbe. They took to task the head of the National Highway Development Authority in charge of the project. During the last more than three years, Ircon, to which the highway widening work had been entrusted, has not done anything at Nantoor, Padil, Volachchil, Tumbe, Arukula etc., where the highway is now in a deplorable condition. Other than making empty promises, nothing seems to be going right, with the people having to suffer bumpy ride on this pot-hole filled stretch of the highway, which has been witnessing frequent accidents, some of which are fatal, regularly.

The citizens of these places had formed a committee and met Gavasane, NHAI head here. As they were not satisfied by his evasive replies, they met local MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, and organized a meeting in the office of the district deputy commissioner here on Monday December 14. The committee members also took a representative of Ircon to the office of Nalin Kumar, where the MP warned Ircon to complete the works within the next ten days.

Nalin then met deputy commissioner, Ponnuraj, and brought pressure on the contractors to at least close the pot holes on the road within the next ten days, and ensured that the concerned agreed for this temporary arrangement. Ircon Company agreed to give an undertaking in writing about this decision within a day.