Mangaluru: A group of people under the banner of ‘Moolarapatna-Muttur Sethuve Horata Samiti’ staged a massive protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office and urged the district administration to reconstruct the Moolarapatna bridge immediately.
The protesters complained that though the Moolarapatna bridge that was connecting Mangaluru and Bantwal taluks, no efforts were made so far to construct the bridge. If no measures are taken to construct the bridge immediately, the protest will be intensified in the coming days, they warned.
Addressing the protesters, committee member B A Mohammed Haneef alleged that though the elected representatives had responded positively for the construction of Gurupur bridge, they preferred to keep mum in Moolarapatna issue. “Such discrimination by elected representatives will not be tolerated”, he warned.
Horata Samithi President Jayanth Badagabellur said, “Due to the absence of Moolarapatna bridge, the number of students in Muttur school has decreased. After the collapse of this bridge, the residents of Badaga Belloor, Kuriyala, Arala among others are forced to travel for more than 20 km to access Kuppe Padav, Yedapadav, Kaikamba, Bajpe and Kateel. District administration should take all appropriate measures to construct the bridge immediately”, he urged.
The Moolarapatna bridge constructed in 1981-82, was a boon for the residents of Badaga Belloor, Kuriyala, Arala, Sornad and Bantwal to reach Kuppe Padav, Yedapadav, Kaikamba, Bajpe, Kateel and vice versa. Prior to the construction of the bridge, boat service was the only mode of transport for the people to cross river Phalguni. However, it collapsed in the month of June 2018 and the connectivity between Bantwal and Mangaluru through Kaikamba was severed.
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