Upalokayukta receives pleas from public in Sullia

Upalokayukta Justice Subhas D Adi said that should people come across any cases of discrepancy of duties from government officials and elected representatives, they should bring to the notice of Lokayukta. He was speaking after receiving pleas from public in Bellare, near Sullia on Friday.

Following a plea regarding the pathetic condition of Tadagaje bridge, he conducted a spot inspection of the bridge and said that the dilapidated condition of the bridge, which was being used by hundreds of people including children, was brought to his notice by Tadagaje villages, including Lokayukta Additional Registrar Gopalakrishna Rai, who is also a resident of the region. The officials concerned have been directed to construct a new bridge within a year, he said.

Subhash B Adi gathered information from Zilla Panchayat Engineer Basavaraj Hukkeri and other three engineers from PWD. The ZP engineer said that a proposal has been sent by the ZP.

Upalokayukta said the mere sending of proposals does not serve any purpose and the follow up is equally important.

As the Zilla Panchayat member of the region Asha Thimmappa Gowda, who also happens to be the Zilla Panchayat president, was not present during Upalokayukta’s visit to the spot.

Adi contacted her through phone and asked why she had not paid attention to the issue. It is the responsibility of elected representative to fetch the required grants. The footbridge is essential for the villagers, the Upalokayukta said. 

The UpaLokayuta took the Zilla Panchayat Engineer to task and expressed his displeasure over the negligent attitude of the elected representatives and the working pattern of the official. 

The footbridge is constructed over Gowri stream, for the convenience of hundred families in Tadagaje and Kodiyala region. During his arrival from Subrahmanya to Sullia, he was received at Bellare bus stand by the dignitaries.

From there, the Upalokayokta came to Tadagaje by walk and observed the pitiable condition of the ZP road. Later, he went to Tadagaje by jeep. Due to bad roads, people including the Upalokayukta in the vehicle, had a bumpy ride.

Mangaluru Lokayukta SP H D Mendonca, Sullia Circle Inspector Sathosh B S, Sullia Tahsildar Shrinivas Shetty were present among others.