The Hindu
Udupi, Apr 16: The convener of the Save National Highway 17 Committee, B. Govindaraj Hegde, said on Tuesday that the members of the committee would stage a dharna or fast at Byndoor, Kundapur and Udupi, on May 5, 6, and 7, respectively, to protest against the poor condition of the highway in Udupi district.
The committee is an umbrella organisation with representatives of various political parties and voluntary organisations.
Speaking at a meeting of the committee, Mr. Hegde said that if the officials of National Highways Department do not respond to the protests, the committee would call for “National Highway 17 bandh” in Udupi district on May 10.
“We are giving a deadline till April 30 for the National Highways Department to provide details of the money spent on repair and maintenance and four-laning of NH 17 in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts,” he said.
The committee would request the voluntary organisations in Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts to participate in the protests. The committee had invited the officials of National Highways Department for Tuesday’s meeting.
They had expressed their inability to attend as they were bound by the Election Code of Conduct. Repair and maintenance of highway could not be considered a new development work but a maintenance activity and hence it did not violate the Code of Conduct, Mr. Hegde said.
Convener of Udupi Consumers’ Forum Damodar Aithal said that people should be made aware of the danger being posed by the movement of overloaded lorries.
Leader of Udupi unit of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) P. Vishwanath Rai said the Election Commission should be apprised of the poor condition of NH 17 and the danger it was posing to vehicle users. This repair work could not wait till the last week of May for the poll process to be completed. No repair work could be taken up in the last week of May as the monsoon would set in, he said.
Former MLA K. Raghupati Bhat, president of district unit of Janata Dal (Secular) Deviprasad Shetty, president of executive committee of Nagarjuna Virodhi Horata Samiti Vijay Hegde and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sheela Shetty were present.