Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (SP)

Kundapur, Jul 31: The road between Guthikere to Badakere government school at Panakadakatte in Balkur in this taluk has become so wretched that it takes courage and determination to move on this road. This road has become useless because of potholes, craters, mounds of sticky mud and dug up drains.

A sum of Rs 3.5 lac out of MLA, Haladi Srinivas Shetty's local area development fund was used to develop this road. After this money was spent, the road, instead of seeing improvement, has become non-existent. This entirely goes to the credit of the contractor who attended to the development work.

Those who conducted work here dug up silt for creating storm drain and deposited the mud so extracted on the road. For this work, as far as one can imagine, about Rs 25,000 to 50,000 would have been spent. People are wondering aloud as to where the balance money was spent out of Rs 3.5 lac. After spending money, this road has become a slushy, dirty track where one dreads to tread.

It is learnt that the contractor, in addition to using the grant of the MLA, also had collected about Rs 30,000 from owners of a local cashew factory with the promise of improving the condition of the road through repairs. The people say that the contractor, instead of developing the road, has used the money for his personal expenses.

Because of the bad condition of this road, vehicles including auto rickshaws and cars refuse to take this road. If someone falls ill, they have to be physically lifted till the main road if they have to be taken to hospitals. Workers of the cashew factory have to walk half a km to catch their vehicles. School children are the worst hit, as their legs turn muddy till their knees and their white dresses turn red by the time they reach their schools. Aged people can neither walk nor any vehicles are prepared to come to the doors of their homes. They have to somehow cross the slush path called road to reach the main road.

The people, frustrated by the situation, held protest against the substandard work. They demanded immediate repair of the road. They also demanded action against those who executed road work here and sought investigation against those who wasted public money on this work.

Panchayat member, Sridhar Udupa, who spoke to protesters, told them that the panchayat members are supporting the people and that the panchayat has no information on the repair conducted here. He said this issue can be discussed at the gram sabha. He promised people to bring the panchayat development officer to the spot and suggested to take further steps on the basis of the opinion expressed by the officer.

A local, Dinesh, says that although money was spent on this road out of MLA funds, this road has not been built. Instead, he said, a backhoe was hired for two days to heap mud from the drain on the road/

Gulabi, another local, points out that her husband who went to a shop by this road slipped and returned home bathed in slush and injured. She says that children are covered in sticky mud everytime they return home by this road. Gulabi said that a patient had to wait for for three days before he could be taken to hospital because of this bad road. Finally he was physically lifted till the main road before a vehicle could take him, she explained.

Panchayat member, Sridhar Udupa, says that the panchayat is not informed about the works undertaken from MLA's funds. He said that he will fight against this substandard work alongside villagers. He feels that this project has only benefitted the contractor and no one else.