Taking exception to, what they termed, poor quality and unscientific execution of work under the Hubballi Dharwad Bus Rapid Transit System (HD-BRTS), members of the Aam Aadmi Party staged a unique protest by cleaning up an underpass across the dedicated bus corridor in Hubballi on Friday.
Already there have been complaints of unscientific execution of works under BRTS, which has led to frequent waterlogging of the roads.
The lastest is that of the underpass near Sana College at Bhairidevarakoppa in Hubballi, which too gets flooded during the rain.
The AAP members cleaned up the underpass and the surrounding area to highlight the problem.
‘Badly maintained’
Leading the protest, president of the Dharwad district unit of AAP Santosh Naragund said that although it was the lone underpass in the entire BRTS project, it had been built unscientifically and badly maintained. The underpass was the only option for the commuters and pedestrians to cross the road. However the authorities had badly maintained it posing health risks to the citizens, he said.
“Probably the sorry state of the underpass has not come to the notice of leaders who keep on speaking about Swachh Bharat. The underpass which should have been people-friendly has become anti-people. There is no information board, no light, and no CCTV cameras in the underpass. There is no safety at all for women and the public,” he said, taking a dig at BJP leaders.
Mr. Santosh pointed out that on getting to know about the AAP protest, the authorities had pumped out the rainwater from the underpass, which was a partial win for the protesters.