AAP raises concerns over accidents on Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway

BENGALURU: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and senior Supreme Court lawyer Brijesh Kalappa on Wednesday said that the government was not concerned with the common people, but served only the VIPs, adding that there was an urgent need to inspect the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway, where the Prime Minister's brother's family met with an accident.

Addressing the media, he said, "The government was prompt when it came to the treatment of Prahlad Modi, brother of the Prime Minister, after he was injured in a mishap on the Mysore-Nanjangud route.

"The tragedy of the current government is that it does not even acknowledge the deaths of common commuters on the same 10-lane Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway."

Speaking at the Aam Aadmi Party's state office, Kalappa said, "Based on various reports, at least 65 accidents have taken place in the last three months which have led to at least 36 deaths. It is not right on the part of the government to play with the lives of the people."

"An expert committee should be constituted at the earliest to inspect the decadal highway and based on its report, the loopholes should be rectified. It is not right for the government to play with the lives of innocent motorists," he said.

"Even when it rains moderately, the water gets collected at many places on the highway and turns into flooding. The design flaws with respect to roadside drains and unscientific work on the service roads has led to dire situations.

"The asphalting of the roads is also poor. The road cracked up within a few months of its inauguration. While Mysuru MP, Pratap Simha doesn't lose an opportunity to boast about the 10-lane expressway, he is not bothered to even talk about the plight of those families who have lost their loved ones on the same road.

"He, in fact, does a cover-up of these issues by ignoring or not talking about them."

"Union Home Minister, Amit Shah who will be on a three-day visit to the state starting December 29, should call for an all-party meeting, including the Aam Aadmi Party to discuss the Belagavi border dispute issue," he demanded.

"Even though, BJP boasts of a 'triple-engine' government at the Centre, Karnataka and Maharashtra, they are turning a blind eye on the plight of Belagavi and Karnataka. Shah should take this opportunity to resolve the issue by taking all parties into confidence," Brijesh Kalappa said on the ongoing Belagavi border dispute issue.