Daijiworld Media Network - Beltangady (SP)

Beltangady, Mar 26: The state high court, on Wednesday March 25, instructed state rural development and panchayati raj department to build a bridge across Puttila rivulet for the convenience of the people living in Bandaru village of the taluk. It has also asked the department to make sure that the construction is completed before May 2016.

A division bench of the high court comprising Justice K L Manjunath and Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan, which took up the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Bandaru gram panchayat member, Dinakaran Gowda, passed this order.

In his PIL, Gowda had stated that the government had earlier sanctioned a bridge across Puttila rivulet for the convenience of people from Bandaru village. But, after getting elected, MLA, Vasant Bangera, wrote to rural development and panchayati raj department minister, H K Patil, seeking to divert funds meant for this bridge for asphalting of Baipady-Bolody road and also to build a bridge there. He had argued that construction of bridge across Puttila rivulet would help only for to five houses. At the request of the MLA, the department had put the tender process for the bridge on hold.

Against this action, Dinakaran Gowda had filed PIL, arguing that over 2,000 villagers from Bandaru are now required to take a long route and cover 12 km to reach taluk headquarters. He said that if the bridge is provided, they can reach Beltangady by covering just two kilometers.

When the PIL came before the bench for consideration, the division bench, on the basis of the stand taken by the public prosecutor, disposed off the PIL by instructing the government to take up bridge construction as planned earlier.