Illegal sand extraction beneath Polali bridge going on unabated, says Bharat Shetty

Dr. Shetty addresses illegal sand extraction beneath Polali bridge, urging government intervention to prevent potential collapse.

Illegal sand extraction beneath the Polali bridge at Addor built across the Phalguni is going on unabated damaging the bridge, Y. Bharat Shetty, Mangaluru City North MLA, said on Thursday, August 22.

Addressing presspersons, Mr. Shetty said that he has been flagging the issue with the government authorities concerned since past one-and-half years but to no avail.

“I ran out of my options,” the MLA said adding that he would approach the court as a last resort if the authorities did not stop the extraction.

Dr. Shetty said that the Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada a few days ago banned the movement of heavy vehicles, including buses, on the bridge as its stability is in question. Only light motor vehicles are being allowed to use the bridge which connects the famous Polali Rajarajeshwari Temple with Mangaluru and other areas.

The MLA said he took up the issue with the Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada, Police Commissioner and Department of Mines and Geology. But illegal extraction is going on without any fear of law. “Illegal sand extractors become active as soon as officials return after inspecting the bridge area at Addor,” the MLA said.

Dr. Shetty said that there is an urgent need to repair the bridge to make it more stable. But if the illegal sand extraction is not stopped, all repair work will go to waste. “Even if a new bridge is constructed on the spot, its stability will again be under question if illegal sand extraction is not stopped,” the MLA said.

Dr. Shetty said that the Minister in charge of Dakshina Kannada Dinesh Gundu Rao should intervene in the matter to stop the illegal sand extraction. Otherwise, in all likelihood, Polali Bridge too might collapse like Mullarapatna bridge which had collapsed in Bantwal taluk in 2018 under the similar conditions.