CPM protests delay in Kulur bridge works

CPM protests delay in Kulur bridge works

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, March 12, 2023: Members of Communist Party of India (Marxist) held a demonstration protesting the inordinate delay in the construction of the six-lane bridge across Phalguni (Gurupura) River in Kulur on Kochi-Panvel National Highway 66 on March 10, Friday.

Addressing the members here, former City Corporation Councillor Dayananda Shetty said that even after three years of commencement of the work, the progress was in snail’s pace. It should not become another ‘Pumpwell flyover,’ he said. Mr. Shetty said that while it had been four years since highway experts reported the Kulur Old Bridge (towards the city) dilapidated, the work started three years ago was not progressing.

The monsoon was fast approaching and the coffer bund erected for pillars was likely to affect free flow of the river that gets swollen. Low lying areas in the upstream could get submerged, he said, and also feared the collapse of the Old Bridge.

Democratic Youth Federation of India state President Muneer Katipalla said neither Mangaluru City North MLA Y. Bharath Shetty nor Member of Parliament Nalin Kumar Kateel appear to have any concern about completion of the project. People were wondering whether the project came to a standstill because of ‘commission’ issue, he mused. The MLA who takes the name of Gurupura Bridge every now and then appears ignorant about the dilapidated Old Bridge, he said. The administration was not concerned about the consequences if the Old Bridge collapses, he regretted.

DYFI district president B.K. Imtiyaz said MLA Dr. Shetty appears disinterested in the completion of the new bridge work. It is over one hundred days that the NITK-Surathkal Gate was closed; yet the skeletal remains of the toll plaza continue to exist, he said.

Courtesy: Times of India