Mangalore: Excess Land Acquired for Nantoor- Tokkottu Stretch Opposed
Pics: Savitha B R
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (PS/VA)
Mangalore, Dec 22: The members of National Highway Victims’ Committee staged a protest in front of Projection Implementation Unit of National Highway Authority, Valencia on Wednesday December 22 with regard to Highway widening works between Nantoor to Tokkottu.
The residents here are irked with the authority’s plan of acquiring 60 mts of land between Nantoor to Thokottu stretch for highway broadening purpose instead of 45 mts in other areas and states like Kerala and Goa.
Overall 250 acres of land and 600 houses will be demolished in the process which the protestors objected strongly.
The residents who will lose their land in the process will be compensation with Rs 90,000 which they are not happy with as the cost of it would be certainly higher than that. The residents mainly do not want their houses or complexes to be demolished and claim that 45 mts of area is very much sufficient for the four-lanes which the authority is planning to build.
The residents of the area had taken the issue to the former Deputy Commissioner Ponnuraj as well as to the local MLAs and ministers who had assured that they will not be in trouble. They had also appealed to CM Yeddyurappa who had also given his assurance but now all the concerned authorities are saying that the Central Government is control of the issue and they have no voice in it.
Speaking to Daijiworld Niranjan, one of the victims said, " The highway authority claims that this plan is draft in view of 50 years of future. The National Highway Act was passed in 1956 but the work started in the current year. Hence theres no point in considering the future now and force the people to evacuate, he argued.
The protestors will also submit a memorandum to the head of National Highway Authority P A Gavasane requesting him to heed to their demands. They have warned that they would intensify the protest if their demands are not met.
Dinakar Ullal, Ismail among other members of the Victims’ committee were present during the protest.