Karnataka BJP MLA counters Nitin Gadkari's claim on 'near-completion' of NH 66: Report

Rupali Naik said that she will write to Gadkari and 'explain the ground reality' to him

A Karnataka BJP MLA has issued a counter to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's claim that the NH 66 project connecting Kundapur in Karnataka to the Goa border is nearly complete, alleging that "it's not even 50 per cent done."

Ankola-Karwar MLA Rupali Naik also issued a warning to IRB, the company handling the works, that she will stop toll collection unless they finish the construction.

On July 2, Gadkari, the union minister of road transport and highways had tweeted a series of photos, saying, "The project for 4-Laning of Goa/Karnataka Border to Kundapur section of NH-17 in the State of Karnataka is near completion". He had claimed that 94 per cent of the work was done and the project would be open by December 2022.

However, Naik countered Gadkari's claim, saying “They have not completed much of the work. The company has just made roads wherever they have acquired the land. Wherever they can, they have built culverts. They have made the roads, but where are the service roads? How should the locals cross over to the other side?" The New Indian Express reported.

“In many places, the work has not started. Pedestrians, normally rural people, will be hit badly due to this. They have not installed even a single streetlight,” she alleged. “There are no drains all along the stretch. The water accumulated should be diverted. But the roads are waterlogged,” she said.

She also said that she will write to Gadkari and "explain the ground reality" to him, according to the report.