Karkala: The newly-laid Mangaluru-Solhapur National Highway 66 via Karkala-Mulur has been inviting danger for several reasons.
The central government has sanctioned Rs 29 Crore for 20 km road widening from Chilimbi to Mulur. Before widening the road, the electric poles, drinking water pipes need to be shifted elsewhere and trees felled for smooth flow of vehicles.
The work of shifting electric poles and drinking water pipes is still pending. Pipes are left broken with water getting wasted even at this juncture of drought. Due to such violation of tender rules in the road work, people from Miyaru and Mudaru are facing severe water scarcity. Following water scarcity, it is learnt that the road work was undertaken in a hurried manner and sufficient water is not being used to dry mixture of cement, sand, gravel or crushed stone. Locals complain that the substandard road work will be a mere waste of money with the approaching monsoon.
Also the road is being laid on pavements inviting danger. While widening the roads, existing electric poles have not been shifted too. The high-tension wires and the absence of street lights on the either sides have turned into a nightmare to the commuters including pedestrians. The locals, as a temporary measure to avoid any untoward incident, have placed stones on the road side.
Even after locals complaining about the unscientific road work, no official has turned up to address the issue.
