R B Jagadish
Daijiworld Media Network – Karkala (EP)
Karkala, Jul 14: Just months after its inauguration, the Yennehole-Hermunde bridge near Ajekar here is lying in dilapidated state, posing great danger to commuters. The incomplete bridge was inaugurated in a hurry in March this year in view of the gram panchayat elections, but no one has bothered about it since.
After inaugurating the bridge for public use, the people’s representatives, contractors and even PWD department officials seemed to have totally forgotten it.
To build the bridge, Rs 50 lac was released from the chief minister's special fund in 2011-12. The bridge links Yennehole- Hermunde across the river at Jangama Matadakadi in Marne gram panchayat limits.
Ironically, MLA Sunil Kumar who inaugurated the bridge in March had said that all-round development of the village would be possible only when the people’s representatives woke up and took up projects on priority basis. But a bridge that he himself inaugurated lies in a state of utter neglect now.
The bridge has been constructed, but without adequate protective walls on either sides of it. The road is also not tarred. The red mud put on the sides has become brittle leading to landslips. The mud gets washed away in the rain water causing horrendous time to vehicle users.
Ramu Ajekar, a local expressed concerns about students' safety and said, "Schools and colleges have begun and students pass by this route everyday. Perchance, if they step on the loose mud on the edges, their lives would be in danger."
Is anyone listening?