BELAGAVI:
While there is growing traffic between Belagavi and Goa due to the advent of the festive and tourism season, all roads from the Karnataka town to Goa are in a highly dilapidated condition. The Belagavi Goa road via Chorla, which is the shortest among all available routes, has become the worst, causing huge inconvenience to commuters and villagers alike.
While the two-lane road was inaugurated amid big fanfare by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in February last year, nothing has changed since then as the fate of this route remains unchanged. While the ghat section from the Karnataka border between Chorla and Goa is in excellent condition, a stretch of about 20 kms between Jamboti and Chorla has become unmotorable, leaving commuters in the lurch.
Irate villagers from Jamboti-Kankumbi, who are suffering the most, have decided to hold a meeting on Wednesday to outline the course of action, including protests. This route, which carried a lot of hopes for citizens from both states, has been dilapidated since last few years on account of neglect by authorities. Some of the stretches were repaired by the NHAI in early June; however, the substandard quality was exposed as huge potholes were formed within a month.
“Amid negligence by authorities, villagers did a bit by filling the potholes by mud, but this was temporary. We tried to contact the NHAI authorities and the district administration, however, our requests are being ignored. Hence to awaken the authorities we have decided to intensify our protests. A meeting of villagers and leaders from the region will be held at Jamboti on Wednesday,” Kiran Gaude, a leading activist and president of Shivapratishthan, Belagavi told The Goan.
“Despite the inauguration of the two-laning work, for which about Rs 300 crore has been sanctioned, we fail to understand why authorities are taking so much of time in implementing the work. The negligence by the authorities is unpardonable,” Gaude added.
Along with Gaude, leaders like Jairam Desai, Laxman Kasarlekar, Sanjay Patil, Bhikaji Gaude, Annasaheb Kudtarkar and other prominent leaders will be addressing the villagers. “An initiative to stage a long-drawn agitation will be taken in this meeting,” Gaude said.
