Ponda: Tense moments were witnessed at Coparwaddo in Curti-Candepar area on Wednesday with villagers foiling PWD’s plans to close down the median gap of the Ponda-Belagavi highway demanding proper access for the villagers to enter the main road. Villagers complained that all the access points of the village to the highway except the median in question are shut by the PWD and they have to risk their lives to enter the highway through the wrong way or take a longer route. The protesters forced PWD workers to abandon the work.

 

As per information, activist Sandeep Parkar had complained about truck parking and the wide median on the highway which is being used by the transport offices to park trucks on both sides of the road. Following the complaint, the deputy collector issued an order to the National Highways Authority of India to close down the wide median on the highway and the same was done some days back. On Wednesday citing the same old order PWD’s National Highway section officials attempted to close down the second median on the highway located around 100 metres from the other median.

 

With closure of the wide median gap, the road connecting the national highway from the Coparwaddo village was left with only a second median gap, which PWD officials attempted to close on Wednesday. Learning about the same, villagers rushed to the site and stopped the work.

 

If the only access median gap left on the highway is closed, villagers will have to drive 1-km distance to enter the highway to proceed towards Ponda or will have to drive through the wrong lane risking their lives, villagers complained. They demanded either conversion of one-way service road into two-way or keeping open one median gap on the highway to vehicles from the village road. PWD officials present at the site said that the work was being done as per the order issued by the collector to the PWD office. They said that now the issue has been referred to higher officials.