Udupi: Issues involving the proposed toll gate at Belman on Padubidri-Karkala State Highway, cracks in houses due to work on the underground rock cavern to store crude at Padur and the inclusion of gram panchayats in the proposed Hebri taluk came up for discussion at the general body meeting of the Udupi Zilla Panchayat here on Tuesday.

Shilpa G. Suvarna, member, said that due to blasting activities being conducted by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd. (ISPRL) for the construction of the underground rock cavern for storing crude, walls of 121 houses had developed cracks.

The matter had been brought to the notice of Kaup MLA Vinay Kumar Sorake and Deputy Commissioner Priyanka Mary Francis who had said that officers would be sent for surveying these houses but there has been no further action. Proper compensation should be given to the house owners, she said.

The House was informed that the 121 houses had been identified and the Public Works Department had been told to give a report on the matter. Interjecting, Ms. Suvarna said that the survey of the houses should be done first and then the work on the cavern should be taken up.

Reshma Shetty, member, said that it was wrong to set up a toll gate at Belman to collect toll for a State Highway. While the road had been widened, it had lot of curves and 32 road humps. It was certainly not to the standards of a national highway. The people in the area were opposed to paying toll for using the road, she said.

D.V. Hegde, officer from the Public Works Department, said that the project of widening the Karkala-Padubidri State Highway was done under the Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project (KSHIP). The Karkala-Padubidri highway had still not been handed over to the PWD. Hence, the PWD did not have any details on the issue of toll collection; the information should be sought from KSHIP authorities, he said.

Marali Pratap Hegde, member, said that the State government had given its nod to the creation of Hebri taluk. But the officers should take the opinion of the gram panchayats concerned on whether they wished to remain in Kundapur taluk or join the new taluk. The House was informed that the views of the gram panchayats would be ascertained.