A campaign with the hashtag, #connectustomangalore, to highlight the plight of the public following snapping of connectivity between the coast and the hinterlands was trending on Twitter with over 6,000 tweets and re-tweets on Friday.
An initiative of professionals from the coast settled in Bengaluru, including Gopal Pai, Vijesh Shenoy, Nitin Bhandary, Siddarth Pai and others, the campaign was mooted to seek attention of the authorities.
Users tagged the Chief Minister, the Prime Minister’s office, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Minister Nitin Gadkari and others to their tweets to highlight the plight.
The Shiradi Ghat and the Sampaje Ghat have remained closed for over 10 days following landslips due to heavy rains while the rail connectivity too remains snapped for the same reason. While the campaign initially started on Tuesday, it was launched on a mass scale on Friday.
Ashwathnarayan, Malleswaram MLA, urged the authorities to restore at least one of the passages connecting the coast and the hinterlands.
Umanath Kotian, Moodbidri MLA, in his tweet promised that all legislators from the coast would ensure Bengaluru-Mangaluru connectivity. The Mangaluru North MLA, Y. Bharath Shetty, too joined the campaign with his tweet.
Users also joined in the debate. Brijesh Chowta said travelling to Bengaluru by road has always been a pain and that the nature’s fury has only intensified the pain. Campaigners also said Shiradi Ghat had never been in good condition since over a decade and wanted to know from the government the reasons behind it.