Bus owners’ association president’s FB post on pedestrian underpass goes viral

Bus owners’ association president’s FB post on pedestrian underpass goes viral

www.mangaloretoday.com

Mangaluru, November 15, 2020: A Facebook post by Dilraj Alva, president of the Dakshina Kannada District Bus Owners’ Association, questioning the need for spending Rs 7 crore on the construction of a pedestrian underpass near Town Hall in Mangaluru has gone viral on social media.

Pointing to a recent decision taken by the government to shift both the deputy commissioner’s office and the bus stand from the locality, Dilraj questioned the rationale behind spending such an enormous sum of money on the initiative. Placing the blame for the ill-advised project at the feet of the Mangaluru Smart City Ltd (MSCL), Alva said that the project, and the leisurely pace of its execution had greatly caused inconvenience to the public.

MSCL managing director Akshay Sridhar, on the other hand, said that officials had been directed to expedite work on the project and complete it in a week.

In his Facebook post, Dilraj underscored the futility of building pedestrian underpasses. “Is there one example of a pedestrian underpass that is useful? The answer is no, because 99% of them are useless. One such underpass that under construction near Town Hall in Mangaluru is an example of taxpayers’ money being wasted,” he wrote.

Dilraj said most pedestrian underpasses often turned into dens for immoral activities. “There are plans to build an underpass at the Mangaluru Central Railway Station so as to help passengers cross the busy thoroughfare. I am sure that, after the inaugural ceremony, the structure will become a safe haven for immoral activities, not to mention a breeding ground for mosquitoes,” Dilraj told STOI.

On the one hand, the new building to house the DC’s office is being constructed in Padil, with a large number of trees having been felled for the structure, while the main bus stand is also being shifted from the city. “Traffic movement is expected to reduce as a result, making one wonder why crores are being spent on the underpass?” Dilraj asked.

Reacting to the post, Kevin RS wrote, “Everyone will learn of the reality of the underpass during the monsoon next year. The state of the Padil-Bajal underpass gives one an idea.” The reference being to the flooding of the Padil-Bajal underpass, an annual occurrence that is a consequence of unscientific construction.

Courtesy: Times of India