Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Jan 17: The issue of erection of a road hump in Bajpe acquired political hues on Monday January 16. Stones were pelted, and the situation necessitated summoning of a Karnataka State Reserve Police contingent to bring the situation under control.

It is learnt that a road hump had been erected near Bape mosque and Ansar School during the laying of the road between the airport at airport at Kenjar and Bajpe, at the request of the management. Even during the erection of hump, several locals had objected to it. They had pointed out that road humps create probems for motorists, duly telling the concerned that humps had not been set up near the church in Bajpe, where the situation is similar.

The hump here had created some two-wheeler mishaps, as it is quite high. On Monday, a local, Joachim D’Souza, and officials of the department had arrived on the spot to shift the hump elsewhere. After some auto rickshaw drivers and members of the general public expressed their opposition, there was a verbal friction. The issue got politicized soon, and school children stood on the road as a measure of protest. Bajpe police inspector, Dinakar Shetty, convinced the teachers and children of the school to go back to their classes.

When some people blocked the children from going back, the policemen resorted to lathi charge. Verbal friction took place between police inspector and gram panchayat president, Sahull Hamid. Windshields of a police vehicle and some other vehicles were shattered, after some miscreants hurled stones.

Assistant commissioner of police, Puttamadaiah, and police inspector, Valentine D’Souza, succeeded in easing the tension and restoring normalcy. Deputy commissioner of police, D Dharmaiah, invited school governing council members and Muslim Committee to the police station and held discussions with them.