Mangalore: Escape bridge, not a reality yet

DHNS

Mangalore, 05 July 2011: Sasihithlu, near Surathkal (about 10 kms from Mangalore) is a place with beautiful landscape. With Arabian sea on one side and river Nandini on the other, this place is a true feast for eyes. However, this feature of Sasihithlu has made the people of the village live under fear of Tsunami, all the time.

 

There are about 3,000 to 4,000 people residing in the region. When Tsunami hit the Indian coast in 2004, the authorities had promised to construct an ‘Escape bridge’ to provide connectivity between Sasihithlu and Kadike. The bridge would help the villagers reach Haleyangadi faster than the usual route. This ‘escape bridge’ has not come up yet, much to the disappointment of the people.

 

The people of Sasihithlu have to depend on Haleyangadi for Panchayat level and to get ration from fair price shops. If one crosses Nandini river from Kadige, then one needs to walk for 15 minutes to reach Haleyangadi. However, owing to the lack of bridge, the people have to depend on road to reach Haleyangadi. They have to catch a bus from Sasihithlu to Mukka, then take another bus from Mukka to Haleyangadi and have to thus spend at least 45 minutes to reach Haleyangadi.

 

The historic Bhagavathi temple’s ‘bhandara mane’ is situated at Kadike. The Bhandara to the temple is brought via boat. There were three ferries to cross the river, said Bhaskar, a local resident. Now the ferry service has stopped and those who own boats cross the river.

 

During the tenure of the BJP-JD(S) coalition government, the blue print for the bridge was prepared.

 

The then District-in-Charge Minister B Nagaraj Shetty had announced Rs 1.73 crore for the bridge.

 

Later, even MLA Abhayachandra Jain had mooted the proposal.  However, with the collapse of the alliance, the proposal on the bridge remained just a blue print.

 

With the District-in-Charge Minister Krishna Palemar promising to urge the Chief Minister to earmark Rs three crore for the construction of the bridge in the next budget, the people of Sasihithlu are still hopeful of getting the bridge.