Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Apr 30: Even after an arrangement was made to pay Rs 55 crore to the contractor executing the Pumpwell and Thokkottu flyover projects which have been limping along painfully since many years, there has been no progress in the projects. The said amount represented loan sanctioned by Axis Bank. The drama of utter neglect and inertia continues to be enacted again and again.

After various organizations, people, institutions, entities and political workers held protests against the delay in the completion of the flyover works, personal secretary of union minister for highways and surface transport, Nitin Gadkari, Vaibhav Dange, had come here on February 28. He had held meeting at a private hotel here with the participation of MP, MLAs, officials of national highway authority and contractors. A letter sanctioning loan of Rs 55 crore was handed over to Navayuga Infrastructure, which is executing the works, as it was facing financial crisis.

Navayuga managing director, C Sridhar, on receipt of the cheque, had pledged to complete junction and service road works at both the flyovers by March 15 and a promise was made to allow traffic to move smoothly. The company also promised to complete Thokkottu flyover and Ujjody Underpass by April 10. This time schedule was announced by the MP in the presence of MLAs and officials.

The company did not even remove the mud heap standing at the flyover site by March 15, let alone development of the flyover. Nothing was done to pave way for smooth traffic except patching up some pot holes of the road. Haphazard work has been done. This disorderly work has been putting people into lot of problems at a time when traffic is heavy because of high prevalence of auspicious functions.

Thokkottu flyover was to be handed over by April 10 but no progress has been achieved other than a couple of backhoes moving mud here and there. Loads of earth heaped between the highway and service road has not been taken up. The promise of handing over Pumpwell flyover on may 31 as promised is sure to be broken. A few workers are seen to be working on these projects, and a concrete culvert is seen to be under construction. People say that if the work progresses like these, it will take several years to complete.

It is said that the main contractor, Navayuga Company, has not been evincing interest in speedy completion of works. An attempt to get the work done through a local contractor was undertaken. But it is said that this contractor got stuck in a case and hence could not take up work.

Project director of national Highways Authority of India, Samson Vijay Kumar, says that the contractor who obtained cheque of Rs 55 crore has not done any work. He wondered how the contractor hopes to complete work with a handful of workers.