Mangalore: Pandeshwar Road Concreting - Nagarika Samiti Alleges Discrimination
Pics by Ganesh Perla
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SP)
Mangalore, Oct 22: Several residents and shop owners in Pandeshwar, who had vacated their buildings at the behest of the officials and city corporators to see their city develop, are worried a lot now. Owners of nine shops in Ideal complex in Pandeshwar had voluntarily vacated their shops, while the owners of two tiled shops by the side of the complex too had left their shops to pave way for the concreting of the road in their area. They now lament that their sacrifice is likely to go down the drain.
It is now said that the plan of the road widening has been modified to save the compound wall of a private college located on this road. There are allegations that the road has been diverted by about a metre, with the only purpose of saving the compound wall of the college. A few shop keepers explained, that they had sacrificed their shops, even though the shops were the only sources of income they had, in the best interests of the city's development. They resented the Corporation's action in making changes in the plan of the road to save the compound wall of the college, overlooking the sacrifices made by several of the residents.
Nagarika Hitarakshana Samiti president, Hanumant Kamat, said that the extension of the road in no way touches any buildings of the College. But just because the present plan envisages demolition of a part of the compound wall and the adjacent canteen of the college, the City Corporation is plotting to change the plan, which is wrong, he opined.
He said that this has been brought to the notice of the district deputy commissioner, V Ponnuraj. The deputy commissioner, while concurring that the college has requested for changing the course of the road as it creates problems for the movement of vehicles, said that he would personally visit the spot and initiate further steps thereafter.
In the meanwhile, assistant executive engineer in the City Corporation, Linge Gowda, who has been supervising the concreting work, said that the plan of A B Shetty Circle - Mangaladevi Road concreting has not yet been finalized. IDF, the technical advisors for the concreting work, has submitted a proposal. Steps will be taken after verifying the proposal, he clarified.