Udupi: Frustrated by the long-standing neglect of the Katapady-Shirva State Highway, locals took an unusual step on Tuesday by planting a banana sapling in one of the numerous potholes that have made the road almost unusable. The highway, which connects Kurkalu Shankarapura in Katapady to Shirva, has been in a severely deteriorated state for months, causing immense difficulty for daily commuters and vehicle users.

Residents of the area have expressed their anger towards the authorities, accusing them of ignoring repeated requests to repair the road. Despite multiple complaints to government officials and local representatives, the condition of the road has only worsened. In a bid to draw attention to the problem, the locals had previously created and shared a song on social media about the poor state of the road. However, their efforts yielded no results.

On Tuesday morning, as a symbolic protest against the apathy of the Public Works Department (PWD), residents planted the banana sapling in one of the deep potholes along the highway near Shankarapura. This act of protest, they added, serves as a message to the authorities, urging them to repair the road immediately before the sapling grows and starts bearing fruit.

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Srinagar (PTI): Property worth Rs 1 crore belonging to a notorious drug peddler was on Saturday attached in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar, police said.

A double-storey house on eight marlas of land situated at Wantpora Eidgah, belonging to Basit Bilal Dar, a notorious drug peddler, valued at approximately Rs 1 crore, a police spokesperson said.

He said Dar is involved in two cases registered under various sections of the NDPS Act.

During investigation, it was established that the accused had acquired the said property through illicit proceeds generated from drug trafficking activities, the spokesperson said.

Consequently, the property was attached under the provisions of the NDPS Act. The attachment proceedings were conducted in the presence of the two independent witnesses, strictly in accordance with the prescribed legal procedures, he said.

As per the attachment order, the owner has been restrained from selling, leasing, transferring, altering, or creating any third-party interest in the property till further orders, the spokesperson added.