Bantwal: With the Moodabidri town growing and also due to the public demand, District-in-charge minister B Ramanath Rai had granted Rs one crore for the widening of road under Apendiks E Scheme. The work undertaken by Karkala based D R Raju is underway for the last five months.
There was an allegation that a few shop owners and vendors had encroached on public road. In a counter-allegation, the shop owners and the vendors had alleged that during the survey work, private land was listed as government land for the road work.

Initially after the survey, huge trees on the sides of road were cut and the road widening work commenced. The work got delayed later as another pipeline work of multi-village drinking water project from Falguni river was underway. But now, the drainage work on the road side which was under progress has been abruptly stopped due to opposition from the shop owners and private land owners.

PWD assistant engineer Umesha Bhat reacting on the matter said that the problem cropped up due to drainage water flowing on the road side and he has asked the local Sangabettu Gram panchayath to grant the necessary land to construct drains.

The Siddakatte area is crowded with students from Government high school, degree colleges, co-operative bank, temple, church, market and an English medium school. With the onset of monsoon, due to improper drainage system, the water flows on the road due to which commuters and pedestrians have become the ultimate sufferers.

The Bantwal-Moodabidri road which was developed four years back witnesses the same condition with the water flowing on the road due to closed drains.

Meanwhile, the main pipe which supplies drinking water broke and the repair work is underway, said M H Sudhakar, Muncipal council officer.