Bantwal, Sep 11, 2019: A protest Padayatra to condemn the sorry state of the BC Road- Maani stretch of the Mangaluru-Bengaluru National Highway, commenced from Melkar on September 11, Wednesday under the leadership of former minister Ramanatha Rai.
Speaking on the occasion, Rai condemned the apathy of the state as well as the Union governments towards the pathetic state of the road. He blamed the cold war between BJP elected representatives and contract companies for the suspension of the NH four-laning works. Stating that an attempt was made to blame delay in land acquisition, Rai declared that he would quit politis if this was the real reason.
MLC Harish Kumar and several party leaders participated in the protest. Later, the protestors submitted a memorandum to the Bantwal Tahsildar listing out their demands.