Media Release

Mangalore, Nov 9: Dakshina Kannada district deputy commissioner, Subodh Yadav, urged the concerned to complete the national highway widening work under progress in the district, within the prescribed time limit. He also asked them to attend to various problems being faced by the people in this connection. He was addressing a meeting of the officials of various departments connected with road works, convened in the court hall of his office on Monday November 8.

“We need not rigidly stick to rules and laws in every single point. We should make it a habit to respond to peoples’ difficulties urgently with welfare of the people on top of our agenda. Delayed works have given rise to various problems to people. It is possible to complete the road works, if National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), national highways department, city corporation, and Mescom work in tandem with each other earnestly,” he felt.

While Gavasane, head of the local division of NHAI, explained about various challenges faced by his department, other departments too came up with myriad problems like encroachment of government load, woes heaped by incessant rains, failure to convince the people, shifting of water pipes, telephone lines etc. Yadav advised them to coordinate with each other to find a suitable solution to these problems. He noted that the national highway work from Suratkal to B C Road was to have been completed by December 2007, and that a total compensation of Rs 61 crore had been disbursed and only Rs 25 lac remains unpaid as on date. Gavasane informed that under phase II, the road between Nantoor and Talapady will be developed, and that preliminary notices had been issued to seven villages through which the road passes. He also revealed that amounts have already been paid for works like utility shifting, electrical shifting, cutting down of trees etc., between Mulky and Kuloor. He informed that the pending fly over work in Suratkal will be completed immediately after the PWD settles valuation work of a building near the fly over, as the case filed in the court has been dismissed. He said that delay in water pipe work from Padil to Thumbe has also been affecting the road widening work.

Discussions were also held about the habit of the people to bring truckloads of solid waste and unload the same by the roadside. The DC asked the city corporation to show a specific site where this waste can be deposited, and warned that those violating the instructions will be subjected to strict measures.