Residents of Kundapur have resolved to invite Udupi Deputy Commissioner and officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to visit service roads of National Highway 66 passing through the town so as to address their concern about shoulder drains, median openings and other concerns.
Rashtriya Heddari Horata Samithi convened a meeting on Saturday in view of the work on Shastri Circle Flyover and the vehicular overpass at Basrur Moorkai for the four-laning project coming to an end. This work, however, commenced about 12 years ago. The samithi said that while the work on flyovers was nearing completion, project concessionaire Navayuga Udupi Tollway Pvt. Ltd. was least bothered about setting right service roads, shoulder drains and median openings for movement of people and vehicles from one part of the carriageway to the other.
Speaking at the meeting, samithi convener Kenchanoor Somashekhar Shetty said that KSRTC buses coming from Udupi have to take a round of over 2 km to reach the bus stand located on the right hand side of the highway. They have to travell till Sangam Circle and take a U turn to reach the bus stand. Again, they have to use the carriageway towards Udupi, take a U turn beneath Shastri Circle flyover to go towards Byndoor and beyond, he said.
Mr. Shetty further said that there was no proper rainwater drainage facility all along the service roads on both the sides. The concessionaire has not completed work on service roads and drainages throughout the project highway — from Talapady to Kundapur — and similar haphazard work is being repeated in Kundapur town too.
Kishore Kumar from the samithi said that initially only a vehicular underpass was proposed at Shastri Circle and following protests, it was changed to a flyover after three years. The inordinate delay in completing the flyover and related infrastructure work was solely due to the indifferent attitude of people, their representatives and the district administration. If people did not raise their voice at present, the town was bound to witness endless problems.
Prathap Shetty from Sasthan Heddari Horata Samithi, Ganesh Puthran and Vivek Nayak from Kundapur Railu Prayanikara Hitarakshana Samithi, general public Madhava Nayak, Sudeep, Shreepathy Acharya, Mahesh Shenoy, Jayananda Kharvi and others also spoke.
