Hubballi: Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Arvind Bellad, has urged the state government to immediately repair the severely damaged roads across Karnataka, holding it responsible for a growing number of accidents and fatalities.
In a press release, Bellad alleged that the state government has emptied the coffers and spent all the money from all departments to implement its guarantee programmes, he charged that 558 people across the state have lost their lives due to poor road conditions. The roads damaged during the monsoon season have still not been repaired or made motorable, he said.
Bellad stated that Hubballi–Dharwad alone has over 70,000 potholes spread across 3,790 km of roads. Over 3,000 people have suffered injuries statewide due to pothole-ridden roads.
The people of twin cities are blaming the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) for the crumbling infrastructure, but the fact is that the state government has failed to release Rs 284 crore under various development schemes for the twin cities, including salaries for HDMC staff. Bellad said that he and opposition has made several requests to the government but it fell on deaf ears.
Bellad alleged that the government which needs to address public grievances, the CM and DCM are more focused on political power than development.
Bellad warned that if the government fails to resolve these issues at the earliest, he would raise the matter on the floor of the Assembly and launch a protest against the government.
