Newskarnataka – Bantwal

Bantwal : A gory road accident which ought not have taken place, has occurred and has claimed four innocent lives. But people are wondering…. Was there any chance of averting this accident, had  the street lights across the bridge were functional?

There is no way anyone can brush aside this argument. There are gorges on either sides of the road near the bridge inviting danger. The local residents have in fact been appealing to the administration to ensure that the street lights in the area are functional. But none had bothered. A few years ago, a private bus had rolled into the gorge here. Moreover the place has heavy traffic round the clock and the demand for good street light facility here has gone unheard.

Though the toll  gate  operating on the new Netravathi bridge  was collecting toll till recently until it was shut down, despite collecting crores of rupees as toll nothing has been done to keep the street lights in good condition. These street lights which were functional for a few days soon after their installation, never gave light in the later days, except that they only add to the beauty of the bridge during day time.

In fact it was a  delight to watch the bright street lights at a distance of 50 meters each all along the  bridge soon after the new Panemangalore bridge was opened for traffic  a few years ago. There are over 60 street lights here which have stopped functioning.

The NHAI has already shrugged off its responsibility saying once installed, it is the duty of the local administration to maintain it. But there arose a conflict of jurisdiction as  almost half of the stretch of the road where the streetlights are positioned came under Bantwal TMC limits and the rest under Narikombu GP limits.Still the two local administrations had resolved to maintain the street lights within their limits. In the meantime, the Narikombu GP shrugged off its responsibility saying funds were insuffice for the purpose and moreover even questioned why it should maintain the street lights installed by the NHAI. Even the Bantwal TMC followed suit and the street lights remained orphan.

Even during the February 3, Monday night’s accident, people had to struggle during relief operations for want of street lights and had to inevitably rely on the vehicle headlights, torches and mobile torches.