Mysore, Aug. 9
A group of people hailing from Kodagu have urged the State government to repair the Hunsur-Thithimathi-Gonikoppa road which is in a pathetic condition, making it nightmarish for the motorists.
The petition, signed online by 132 persons, was submitted by Bangalore-based journalist P.T. Bopanna. The petition sheds light on the unmotorable condition of the road passing through Anechowkoor Check Post.
Speaker K.G. Bopaiah, who represents the Virajpet Assembly constituency, has been requested by the people of that constituency to expedite the work on repairing the Hunsur-Gonikoppa road.
The road also comes under the purview of Hunsur and Periyapatna MLAs. However, they seem to be noncommittal towards the bad condition of the road since it is mostly used by the people of South Kodagu and Kerala State.
Though the government has sanctioned funds for the road repair, work is yet to commence as it is being delayed on the pretext of rains, alleged Bopanna in the petition and said that all people cannot be fooled all the time.
It may be mentioned here that some coffee-growers of south Kodagu, exasperated with the bad condition of the road, had pooled in money and filled up some of the crater-like potholes with several truckloads of jelly stones about two years ago.
Among the donors were former President of the Federation of Kodava Samajas M.N. Belliappa, Umamaheshwari Petrol Bunk owner Kollira Umesh and Star of Mysore Editor-in-Chief K.B. Ganapathy. However, if the government had responded positively then, the contribution would have been significant. But due to the divine neglect on part of authorities concerned, the condition of the road went from bad to worse.
The PWD engineers, when contacted in this regard, say that the road will soon be converted into an inter-State highway and under this pretext, they avoid initiating any action for the road’s repair.
The fact is that the motorists who frequently use this road are the victims of dirty politics. While the Lok Sabha member for Kodagu-Mysore constituency represents Congress, the MLA for Virajpet constituency is from BJP — Speaker Bopaiah. This road also comes under the purview of Hunsur and Periyapatna MLAs — Chikkanna and Venkatesh respectively — both from Congress.
Meanwhile, both K.G. Bopaiah and Youth Services & Sports Minister M.P. Appachu Ranjan — who are keen to fulfill the demands of Kodagu people and get the road repaired — have assured that the road work will commence from November.
It may be recalled, when some Kodagu citizens launched a protest against the un-motorable condition of this road, Police arrested them, booked cases and got them entangled in legal web. As a result no one is ready to participate in rasta roko as often happens on Mysore-Bangalore road. So our rulers are happy.
The govt., instead of performing its duty of providing basic infrastructure, is harassing citizens by fixing cases through the Police, in an attempt to bring down their morale. Is this democracy?
source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / General News / August 09th, 2012
