‘Toll gate will be closed if not assured in writing within 10 days’
MP Nalin Kumar warns Navayuga Company
Mangaluru, June 21: Lok Sabha Member Nalin Kumar Kateel warned the company, which is carrying out the Pumpwell-Thokkottu flyover construction on National Highway 66, of closing the toll gate with the help of general public if the company failed to assure in writing within 10 days about completion of the work.
Addressing the officers of National Highway Authority of India and engineers and representatives of the company at his office here on Thursday, the MP said that though the construction work of the two flyovers was started a few years back, it was not completed. When it rained heavily, the traffic movement would be blocked on the road. People would take elected representatives to task. In the earlier meeting, the officers and engineers had promised of completing Thokkottu flyover work by May and Pumpwell flyover work by December. But as per the present situation, the work would not complete at that time. So, they should give in writing within 10 days on when they will going to complete the work. Otherwise, they would close the toll gate, he warned Navayuga company representative.
“I wanted to inaugurate the highway work from the Prime Minister by next January. But you are telling that you will complete the work in next June. But we are not in a position to wait till that time. Already, Rs 1.20 crore penalty was imposed on the delayed work. But you have not learned the lesson from it. Let your company managing director come to Mangaluru and hold a meeting with me and the deputy commissioner”, he said.
Fill pot-holes
Before the onset of rainy season, the potholes on the national highway should have been filled and silt should have been removed from the drainages, dangerous trees should have been chopped. As the authorities did not take up those works, Mangaluru city was marooned in the recent rain. Though they were aware of the rain in coastal region, they have neglected to take precautionary measures. So, potholes on national highways should be filled immediately, he directed.
To solve the problem in the Padeel Under-pass, both NHAI officers and the City Corporation officers should jointly inspect the place and take steps. As there is an allegation that unscientific work is the main reason for accidents near Nanturu circle, the officers should take it seriously and solve the problem as a priority, he said.
In spite of spending Rs 8 crore for maintaining Surathkal-Bantwal national highway, the pot-holes were still there. Officers should take steps to solve the problems in Ramalkatte in Tumbe, BC Road, Nantur, Padeel, Pumpwell and Thokkottu junctions, he said.
Tender is called for BC Road- Punjalkatte road development and work would be started after rainy season. Tender would be called for Rs 33 crore Gurupura new bridge construction after rainy season, NHAI officials said.
MLA Vedavyas Kamath, Zilla Panchayat vice president Kasturi Panja, corporators Premananda Shetty, Sudheer Shetty Kannur, Vijaykumar and others were present at the meeting.
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Mathura boat capsize tragedy: Death toll climbs to 13
Mathura (UP)(PTI): With the recovery of two more bodies on Sunday, the death toll in the boat capsize incident in the Yamuna river in Mathura has climbed to 13, officials said on Sunday.
Search for three more missing persons is underway.
Superintendent of Police (Rural) Suresh Chandra Rawat said renewed search efforts led to the recovery of the body of a college student, identified as Dinki Bansal, near Devraha Baba Ghat and that of a man identified as Rishabh Sharma approximately 3 km away from the accident site.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon when a boat carrying over two dozen tourists, primarily from Punjab, hit a floating drum of a pontoon bridge and capsized near Kesi Ghat in Vrindavan.
Most of the victims were from Jagraon and Dugri areas of Ludhiana district.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with the district administration and local police were actively engaged in the search for the missing pilgrims.
However, strong currents of the Yamuna river and the significant depth of the water at the ghats are proving a hindrance.
Circle Officer (Mant) Sandeep Singh said the Yamuna river stretch extending from Keshi Ghat to Gokul Barrage has been divided into seven sectors.
The search for the missing individuals will now be conducted within this specific 20-square-km zone. A Station House Officer (SHO) has been designated as the in-charge for each sector.
Acting on the orders of the DIG (Agra Range), seven SHOs will oversee operations across the seven sectors of river Yamuna.
Giving details about the operation, Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Pankaj Kumar Verma, citing NDRF officials, on Saturday had said although the search for the missing persons is currently focused within a 14-km radius from the spot where the boat had capsized, there is a possibility that they may have been swept much further downstream.
SHO of Vrindavan police station Sanjay Pandey said boat operator Pappu was arrested late on Friday night.
He is accused of failing to provide life jackets to passengers before allowing them to board the boat, and operating the boat at high speed. This resulted in the boat losing control and colliding with a pontoon bridge's drum, which led to the accident, officials said.
Police have registered a case and also arrested the contractor, Narayan Sharma, responsible for the repair work on the pontoon bridge.
Rawat said that on Friday evening, police registered a case under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the boatman Pappu (alias Dauji) and Sharma, and subsequently arrested them.
According to the case details, Pappu's boat did not have any safety equipment or provisions whatsoever.
Moreover, despite repeated pleas from pilgrims, Pappu operated the boat at high speed. By the time he realised the danger upon approaching the pontoons of the bridge, it was already too late.
Consequently, after colliding with a pontoon drum, the boat lost control and capsized. It has also come to light that he is among those operators who have not obtained the requisite license to operate a boat.
Sharma was carrying out the work of dismantling and reassembling the pontoon bridge without providing any prior notification.
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