The Udupi Zilla Samajika Mattu Mahiti Hakku Karyakartara Vedike on Monday urged the government to immediately upgrade the Brahmavar-Siddapura major district road (MDR) via Barkur and Bidkalkatte as a State Highway as announced in the 2020 State Budget.
Speaking to reporters in Udupi, vedike president Sadashiva Shetty said that the government should not have rescinded its earlier decision of declaring the road as State Highway in the budget. He said that a legislator was behind this decision of downgrading the road which was taken to protect some vested interests.
The stretch passing through prominent locations in the district witnesses movement of over 10,000 vehicles every day and deserves to be developed as State Highway, he said. Mr. Shetty said that the decision to downgrade the road this year came to light through an RTI application.
In fact, a place like Barkur that houses religious centres of all faiths would have seen much development if the road was developed and widened. The road should have been made State Highway long ago. Yet, the decision was made as late as 2020.
He noted that good roads usher in development and it was the government’s responsibility to provide proper and adequate connectivity. If road widening requires land acquisition and payment of compensation, the government should provide them. However, withdrawing the State Highway status citing problems in land acquisition was retrograde, Mr. Shetty said. Widened roads will ensure smooth vehicular movement and reduce the number of accidents, he said.
RTI activist Shankar Shanthi said that the upgradation was stalled to protect some commercial complexes in Barkur town.
Farmers association representative Manjunath Shetty, RTI activist Shankar Shastri, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike district president Ansar Ahmed, DSS leader Shekhar Havanje and others were present.
