Failure to submit report on bridges' safety: Dakshina Kannada DC serves show cause notice to NHAI PD, PWD

Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner, Mullai Muhilan MP has issued a show-cause notice to the officials of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the Public Works Department (PWD) for neglecting to submit a report on the safety of bridges on highways.

He issued the show-cause notice during a meeting held on Saturday at the Deputy Commissioner's office regarding safety measures for roads and bridges in the district.

Instructions had already been given to the concerned departments to submit a report on the safety of bridges on major roads, including national highways, state highways, and district main roads. However, the NHAI and the PWD have not yet submitted an adequate report.

"We can not compromise on the safety of the highways where thousands of vehicles ply daily. In this background, show cause notice have been served to the Project Director of NHAI and Executive engineer of the PWD," said the DC.

The DC expressed his strong dissatisfaction with the NHAI project director for failing to take effective measures for strengthening the stability of the old Kuloor bridge on the National Highway. Additionally, the work on the new bridge has been stalled, and there is no clarity on when it will be completed.

During the meeting of the District Disaster Management Authority held on August 8, the concerned departments, police, and respective urban and rural local bodies were instructed to immediately conduct a joint survey on the stability of the bridges on the district's highways and submit a report within 24 hours.

The meeting was attended by ZP CEO Dr Anandh, SP Yathish N, DCP (Traffic and crime) Dinesh Kumar, Additional DC Dr Santhosh Kumar and others.