Go Fishing in Troubled RUB Water at Padil-Bajal

Go Fishing in Troubled RUB Water at Padil-Bajal

Go Fishing in Troubled Railway Under Bridge (RUB) Water at Padil-Bajal- With heavy rains lashing the area this Under Bridge has been flooded with over the knee high-level water due to poor drainage plan- and this road is closed at present, thereby taxpayers money going down the “drain”..Ooops, sorry, “Flooded Rain Water?”

Mangaluru: The song “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by pop singers Simon and Garfunkel come to my mind, when looking at the pathetic and flooded condition of the Rail Under Bridge (RUB) , which was recently constructed near Padil-Bajal Road, near to Mangalore Junction Railway Station. How about composing a song, “Under Bridge with Troubled Water” paying tribute to Padil-Bajal Road RUB? This RUB which was put into use just a few months ago has been creating more problems than helping people. And with the recent heavy rains, the RUB has been flooded making it hard for light vehicles, especially two-wheelers to navigate through it. The “Kings of the Road”, namely the buses, however, are plying through this flooded under the bridge, thereby splashing water on nearby motorists. Bah humbug!

The foundation for Padil-Bajal ‘Railway Under Bridge’ was laid on August 16, 2014 by the then union minister for railways D V Sadananda Gowda. The project was expected to finish by February 2015 , but the deadline was later extended to June/October 2015. But finally the RUB has put into use a few months ago- but since then it has been creating lots of inconveniences and hardships for the people and motorists. But still, none of the Railway authorities nor MCC officials have come forward to rectify the pending issues. With no proper drainage planned while constructing this RUB, rain water gets stranded up to knee level and sometimes even above. Looking at the situation of this RUB and to bring awake the MCC officials and whosoever is responsible for this carelessness, the Bajal-Pakkaladka and Jalligudde units of DYFI have decided to stage a protest by fishing in the flooded/stranded water.

Speaking to Mangalorean.com, District Secretary of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) -Santhosh Bajal said, “Even though the RUB was allowed for motorists and public few months ago, but Mangaluru City Corporation has still not been able to set right the vital road that provides access to many other adjoining areas. This Under Bridge has totally cut off the road connecting Faisalnagar and Jayanagar, where people of these areas are now forced to walk up to the main road at Padil to go for work or do other errands. So to bring to the notice of the concerned persons for their work of negligence and carelessness, a group of students belonging to a Left-oriented student organization will come with fishing rods and baits as well as fishing nets in an attempt to ‘catch’ fish in the muddy water that gathers at the under bridge “.

“With the incessant rains lately, and due to the poor planning of this under-bridge with no proper drainage the rain water has been collecting till knee high. While motorists, especially two-wheelers are managing to wade through the water, the pedestrians are using alternative and longer routes to avoid this mess in order to reach their work places and other appointments in the city. The main reason for the present pathetic situation is because of the lack of coordination between the City administration and Palakkad division of Southern Railways. Tomorrow’s “Fishing” protest is aimed at getting the authorities concerned to redress the problem at the earliest so that it would be easy for the motorists and pedestrians to use the RUB without any hassles or inconveniences” added Bajal.

Now that a sign has been posted by the MCC at both the entrance of the RUM, informing motorists and pedestrians that the RUM road stretch has been closed for the timing, but two-wheelers ride and pedestrians wade through this flooded/stranded water, putting their lives at risk other than that the RUM that was constructed with few crores has resulted in taxpayers money going down the “Drain”?..Ooops sorry, “Flooded Rain Water?”