Congress protests over condition of NH 66 in Mangaluru

Members of the Dakshina Kannada District Congress unit held a demonstration and conducted a mock funeral procession protesting the pathetic condition of Kochi-Panvel National Highway 66 between Baikampady and Nanthoor in the city on Friday, September 22.

Speaking on the occasion, district Congress president K. Harish Kumar termed National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) claim that funds were not available for highway upkeep after the closure of the toll plaza at NITK-Surathkal as rubbish. The NHAI should have maintained the highway in a good condition, he said.

Ivan D’Souza, MLC, noted that though the Central government had released sufficient funds for the upkeep of the highway, the NHAI failed to maintain it in good condition. The apathy has resulted in the deaths of innocent people, he said.

Later, the protesting members took out a mock funeral procession from Nanthoor Junction to NHAI’s Project Office located nearby and attempted to lay siege to the office. When the police prevented them, they threw the effigy inside the office compound.

Congress leader Mithun Rai alleged that people’s representatives and the NHAI were directly responsible for the deaths on the highway on account of potholes and craters. Demanding ₹1 crore compensation to the families of victims, he said the Congress would continue to hold protests till the highway was restored.

Another leader, B. Padmaraj Poojary, said that while the BJP was silent on development, it was active in dividing people on communal grounds. MLAs and the MP did not even have the courtesy to visit the victim’s family and console the members, he said.