Highway Safety: DK DC issues show cause notices to NHAI and PWD officials

Mangaluru: Deputy Commissioner Mullai Muhilan issued show-cause notices to the officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Public Works Department (PWD) for their negligence in submitting reports on the safety of bridges on highways.

The notices were issued during a meeting held at the DC’s office on Saturday. The meeting focused on the implementation of road and bridge safety measures in the district.

The concerned departments had already been instructed to submit reports on the safety of bridges on major roads, including national highways, state highways, and district main roads. However, both NHAI and PWD failed to provide satisfactory reports.

The DC emphasized that there could be no compromise on the safety of highways, where thousands of vehicles travel daily. Consequently, the DC issued show-cause notices to the NHAI Project Director and the Executive Engineer of the PWD.

Expressing dissatisfaction, the DC criticized the NHAI Project Director for the lack of effective measures concerning the old Kuloor bridge on the national highway. Despite the bridge’s limited capacity, no significant action has been taken by the highway authority. Furthermore, the construction of the new bridge has been stalled, with no clarity on its completion timeline, the DC noted.

During the District Disaster Management Authority meeting held on August 8, related departments, along with police and local urban and rural bodies, were instructed to conduct joint surveys on the functionality of the bridges in the district and submit their reports immediately. The DC has ordered these reports to be submitted within the next 24 hours.

The meeting was attended by Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Panchayat Dr. Anand, District Superintendent of Police Yathish, DCP (Traffic) Dinesh Kumar, Additional Deputy Commissioner Dr. Santosh Kumar, and others.