Shirali: Locals disrupt NH widening work; allege political influence behind limiting its width to 30 meters

Bhatkal, Shirali 13 January 2019: (Bhatkallys News Bureau) The locals of Shirali on Friday protested against the construction of National highway 66 in Shirali and asked the contractors to extend the Highway’s width to 45 meters as decided by the IRB earlier. The locals alleged that, “Earlier, IRB Company had planned to widen the National Highway to 45 meters. Houses and buildings were also destroyed due to this. However, after few days, owing to the pressure and the political influence of local businessmen here, the widening of the highway was limited to 30 meters which is completely injust to those whose properties were demolished earlier.” “We don’t want the widening of National Highway, if it is limited to only 30 meters” the protesters added. Tahsildar VN Bhadkar and Assistant Commissioner Sajjid Mulla rushed to the spot and requested the protesters to let the IRB workers to do their job. “The road ahead of Shirali has been extend to 45 meters. But, why is the Highway near Shirali which is also the busiest place is limited to only 30 meters”- questioned the protesters. The officials later ordered the contractors to stop their work for a week unless further notice is issued. The security was beefed up under the directions of CPI Ganesh and PSI Ravi to avoid any untoward incidents. Shirali gram panchayath President Venkatesh Naik threatened to organise a gathering on 17 Jan to protest against the widening the road that has been limited to only 30 meters. (Bhatkallys News Bureau)