Mangalore: Incomplete Road Work Leaves Meramajal Residents Stranded
by Rajesh Shetty
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (CN)
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Mangalore, Mar 11: Residents of Meramajal near Arkula are wondering if they are living on an island or near a city, for the road connecting them to the city has been rendered unusable.
The road was filled with ‘jelli’ stones almost a year ago with the assurance of providing a good road soon. The stones on the road prevent the movement of vehicles on the road. The residents claim that if anyone wants to travel on this road, it can be done only if that person puts everything in God’s hands!
This particular road connects the city with Abbettu, Meramajal, Padu, Makkalapade, Bondanthila, and Mallur of Neermarga. The locals and the people of this area feel they are being neglected by the zilla panchayat.
The bitumen on the road which has been removed makes it an obstacle course for students and the working people of the area who are left with no option but to travel to the city by the road which is under construction.
Students, who used to commute by autorickshaws, now have to walk by the sides of the road. Residents of the area claim that the contractor who was entrusted the construction of this road has gone missing since the road was dug up.
“The road was in a bad condition and we needed a new good road. However, we never expected that this road would take years to complete. The contractor is missing, so the work has stopped”, said Yashavanth, a panchayat member.
There were three buses which would make 18 trips on this road daily, and they have all stopped running. The locals also cited the recent instance of a woman who had to be hospitalized urgently and had to be physically carried to the hospital.
Mohammad Baddur, resident, Meramajal, who is also a social worker, said that the zilla panchayat had given the tender to a contractor who has not continued the work and this shows the quality of work also.
The people of the area are planning to protest demanding that the work of asphalting the road by changing the contractor.
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