One month since a large quantity of construction debris were dumped in to Phalguni (Gurupura) River bed in Sulthan Bathery, the district administration is slacking in removing them and restoring the river to the original course.

When The Hindu visited the place adjoining the park on the river bank on Sunday, only a portion of debris was removed, while a large extent was still in the river bed.

One earth mover was engaged in removing the debris when District In-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao visited the area on Friday, to see the progress of construction of new vehicular bridge across the river, which is about 500 meters away from place debris have been dumped. Taking cognisance of reports of encroachment of about 20 cents of river land by dumping of building waste, Mr. Rao expressed concern over the encroachment during the review meeting on April 10. He then directed officials to remove the encroachment and restore the river to original course.

Answering to the question by The Hindu about tardy progress in removal of the encroachment, Deputy Commissioner H.V. Darshan, who accompanied Mr. Rao to see the progress of bridge construction, said the extent of debris dumped was huge. “It will take another 15 days to remove it,” he said.

Following media reports about encroachment, a team of officials from Coastal Zone Management Authority visited the spot and issued notices to Mangaluru City Corporation, port officer and Mangaluru tahsildar, seeking action on violation of norms as the encroached area comes under Zone 1B of Coastal Regulatory Zone.

On the complaint by MCC town planning officer, the Barke police registered a case against the president of Boloor Mogaveera Mahasabha and the truck driver under Sections 324 (5) and 329 (3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita and Section 2 (A) and (B) of the Karnataka Prevention of Destruction and Loss of Property Act, 1981.