Villagers protest govt apathy by planting ragi saplings on slushy road

People of the villages along the Yelanadu-Bhattarahalli road in the hobli planted ragi samplings on the road as a protest against the terrible condition of the road.

The 1.5 KM stretch is completely filled with slush and become perilous. According to residents of the village, the road not looks exactly like a ragi field. "Even walking on the road has become impossible; so where is the chance of riding on the road on a two-wheeler? " a resident questioned.

"Any motorist on the road is bound to fall and get injured. So we have planted ragi samplings on the road as a mark of protest, as the taluk administration has done nothing to ensure to the safety of people using the road," residents said.

Last week, many devotees attended the Dasara worship at the Gurusiddaramaiah swamy temple. They saw the road and cursed the district authorities protesters said. They came from Gubbi taluk, Soolyanapalya, Hosadurga taluk, Kanchipura and other nearby areas.

Bhattarahalli resident Mallikarjuna said that the road had been OK for the last 20 years. But some politicians dug it up on the pretext of upgrading it and Rs 5 Lakh was spent on the project. "As result the road is now unusable," he said.