Bhatkal: The construction work of four-lane National Highway is presently under progress from the border to Kundpur to Majali in Karwar. The project is under taken by the IRB Company. When the survey team approached survey number 68 in Purvarga for the survey on Thursday, residents of the area strongly protested against the land acquisition officer and the survey team alleging them of cheating the residents.
The people of Purvarga alleged that the government was forcibly trying to acquire land from them for the NH expansion. The poor people of the area had no option to go anywhere if their houses were demolished on the name of NH four-lane, they complained. The people are of the opinion that the forest land which is present on the other side of the national highway could be utilized for expansion work saving hundreds of houses belonging to poor people from being demolished. The residents claimed that the government was trying to forcibly snatch their houses from them instead of making use of the unoccupied government land which was present on the other side of NH.
The people claimed that the public representatives had promised them of limiting the highway expansion work for the width of 30 meters. ‘This is the 9th time the survey is being conducted consecutively and the residents are being cheated and harassed continuously on the basis of this’, alleged the angry protestors. They demanded that until the alternate arrangements were not done for their residence, the surveys should not be conducted. They also accused government of making changes on the proposed highway plan for saving the buildings and compounds of rich folks and demanded the same for the sake of humanity and providing a chance of survival for the needy. The vice president of Yellowadi-Koovour gram panchayat Abdurrazzaq, local leaders Muhammed Arif, Muhammed Awar along with others were present with the general public during protest. But the concerned officers turned a deaf ear to the voices of protesting public and ascertained that they were carrying out the orders given to them by the higher officials which had asked them to carry out the survey for 45 meters. At this point the verbal fight between the officials and the public was witnessed which made the CPI Suresh Naik, SI Kodgonti and other police officers to intervene and disperse the enraged crowd. Later, the survey was carried out under the police security.
In this regard, the land acquisition officer of Honnaver Raju Moger has said that the width of the NH in Bhatkal and Shirali is limited to 30 meters, whereas in Purwarga the survey is being carried out for 45meter width according to higher orders. He said that in case they are being disrupted from carrying out their duty, it would be done under police security and they had no option other than that.
In contrast to this, the vice president of Yelvadi Kavoor gram panchayat Abdurrazzaq has said that the public representatives and higher officers have assured them a number of times that the houses of the poor people will be saved from being demolished. But the present situation is a clear sign that the public of this area are being cheated and harassed purposely, he alleged.