Mangaluru: The Nagarika Horata Samiti, Surathkal, on Wednesday evening held a torchlight protest march from BASF to Kana Junction demanding a four-lane road on the Surathkal-Kana-Bala-MRPL stretch.

Samiti convener and DYFI district president B.K. Imtiyaz criticised government’s move to cancel the tender for four-laning the road and instead spending crores of rupees in the guise of repairing the road. He said the samiti and affected residents had held 20 protests during the last two years demanding a proper road.

While the Public Works Department had planned to four-lane the road at a cost of ₹58 crore and the foundation stone was laid in February this year, the tender has now been cancelled due to changed political equations, Mr. Imtiyaz alleged. Mangaluru City Corporation’s new proposal to repair the road at a cost of ₹1.2 crore is sheer waste of public money, he said.

Stating that the repairs would not last even for three months owing to movement of heavy trucks plying to major industries, Mr. Imtiyaz warned of widespread protests if the MCC resorts to repair instead of building a four-lane road.