The residents of Kurubur village near T. Narsipur in Mysuru district b locked the national highway after an elderly man riding pillion on a two-wheeler was killed in a road mishap on the highway on Saturday.
When 78-year-old K.G. Nagaraju, a resident of Kurubur village, was fatally knocked down by another speeding two-wheeler while travelling pillion on the motorcycle with his son Rajesh on the stretch of the national highway between T. Narsipur and Kollegal, the residents of the village gathered at the spot and blocked the highway in protest against the failure of the authorities to make the road safer for travel.
His son Rajesh suffered grevious injuries and was rushed to the hospital.
The snap protest by villagers led to vehicles piling up on either side of the highway for a long distance. The protestors criticised the officials for failing to take steps necessary to make travel safer on the highway by removing the vegetation on either side of the highway that was blocking the vision of the road users, particularly while negotiating curves on the road.
Karnataka Sugarcane Growers’ Association President Kurubur Shanthakumar said the deceased Nagaraju, who hailed from his native Kurubur, was concerned about farmers’ issues and added that his death was a shock to the residents of the village.
Recalling that it was the same stretch of road, where a SUV had collided with a private bus on May 29, claiming the lives of 11 travellers, Mr. Shanthakumar said the authorities do not appear to have taken corrective steps to make road travel safer on the stretch.
Apart from demanding that criminal case be booked against the officials of National Highway Authority of India for alleged negligence, he also demanded a compensation of ₹10 lakh from the government for the victim’s family. He said the government should bear the medical treatment of Rajesh, who is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Mysuru.
