HONNALI: After an outburst over the pathetic condition that Padma Shri awardee Tulsi Gouda was living in, as she and her family were forced to stay indoors during monsoon with the stream in front of their house overflowing, now a temporary bridge has been constructed.
She has been living on an elevated platform at Honnali along the Hubballi-Ankola highway for decades. During the rainy season, it used to be a nightmare as the overflowing stream would cut them off from the main road. She poured out her woes with the authorities, who visited her house and saw her plight first-hand. “Water comes till our house, even if it rains for half-an-hour,” Shekar Gouda, her grandson, said.
Tulasi said, “I don’t step out much as I am old and weak. But my family members have to go out and work for a living.” Responding to her pleas, Karwar-Ankola MLA Rupali Naik ensured that the makeshift bridge was constructed.
“We have completed the temporary bridge now. But we are planning to construct a permanent foot over bridge. Rs 45 lakh has been sanctioned,” Naik said. “But the neighbouring property owner claims that the land on which the bridge is coming up belongs to him. We will resolve the issue once the monsoon gets over,” she informed.