Remove mandapam on National Highway in two weeks

Petitioner, Balamurugan from Sivaganga, in his petition, stated that in 2015 the Central government had allotted Rs 1,387 crore to lay four roads between Madurai and Rameswaram and the works had commenced in 2016. The land acquiring process and road laying works were carried out simultaneously.

Though the NH department has begun to lay the road at Tirubuvanam, they have failed to demolish the mandapam in the middle of the road. Instead, the road has been narrowed down, leaving space for the mandapam.

This is an incomplete job. The petitioner said that motorists opined that leaving the mandapam untouched in the middle of the arterial road is dangerous as it could be the cause of frequent accidents. Especially, the mandapam is not clearly visible in the night and therefore it is not advisable to leave it as such, they said.

So the court should direct the NH department to remove the mandapam and lay the road properly in the segment, prayed the petitioner. When the petition was heard by judges, KK Sasidharan and GR Swaminathan, they had directed the Project Direction of NH department to demolish the mandapam in two weeks and lay the proper road in the Tirubuvanam section. After giving these directions, the court disposed of the petition.