Madikeri: Residents and building owners of different areas held a protest against the Virajpet Taluk Panchayat for allegedly continuing unscientific road construction process.
The protestors alleged that the town panchayat had decided to broaden the roads from Sunkadakatte till Meenupete in an unscientific manner, creating problems for the civilians.
Those who led the protest said that the concerned officials had informed and issued a notice in the month of July, that they would conduct a survey and demolish the buildings. They expressed their distress stating that the notice had no mention of any compensation amount for the owners of the buildings.
A senior citizen, Dr I R Durgaprasad said, “Veerarajendrapete (now called Virajpet) has a history of 200 years. If they start digging the Maletirike Betta and continue to broaden the roads for the sake of development, the mud on the mountain will begin losing its strength and gradually slide down, causing severe damages. This is definitely an alarming situation.”
Lawyer Ravindra Kamath alleged, “According to the norms, only after the compensation amount reaches the concerned building owners should the road be broadened. But the town panchayat has not bothered to adhere to these norms.”
“On one end, there is Maletirike Betta and on the other end there is a 100-feet-deep pit. The road widening plan of the town panchayat is unscientific as they are not constructing retaining walls on either sides of the road,” he added.
“Virajpet town has already been devastated by the unforgiving floods of 2018, and now with such an unscientific methods of road broadening, the lives of many are at risk. Instead of playing with Mother Nature, it is better to retain the beauty of the town,” said another lawyer, T P Krishna.
Assistant Commissioner, Madikeri Sub Division Javaregowda accepted the memorandum from the protestors and promised to bring the issue to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner.
