Villagers block Karike-Bhagamandala Road in protest

Condemning the apathy of authorities in repairing Karike-Bhagamandala main road in Madikeri taluk the villagers in the region staged a protest by blocking the road for 12 hours on Wednesday.

The protestors said that the road is in bad condition from the past two years. But, the elected representatives and officials have not taken any care to repair the road.

A grant of Rs 4 crore was sanctioned towards the development of Karike-Bhagamandala Road during the tenure of the coalition government in the state. But, the grant is now held up. The memorandum submitted to the district administration in this regard has borne no fruit. The transport and telecommunication system are also marred by apathy, the villagers said.

Even though zilla panchayat member Kavita Prabhakar requested the villagers to drop protests and assured of commencing the road repair work at the earliest, the protesters did not pay heed and blocked the road in protest from 6 am to 6 pm.

During a press conference held recently, the villagers had alleged that the government has completely forgotten the development of Karike, which lies on Kodagu border.

Karike village is 68km away from Madikeri, the district headquarter. Tourists rely upon Bhagamandala-Karike route to go to Talacauvery, Emmemadu and Napoklu. Goods transportation between Kerala and Kodagu is carried out using the road.