RAJ BHAVAN 2012: WHEN KARNATAKA GOVERNOR CAME TO MY RESCUE

By P.T. Bopanna

Unlike Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah who is on a collision course with Raj Bhavan nowadays, the then governor of Karnataka Hans Raj Bhardwaj (in picture) came to my rescue in November, 2012.

I met the governor at the Taj Madikeri Resort and apprised him on the condition of roads in Kodagu (Coorg), particularly the Hunsur-Gonikoppal highway. The governor asked me to submit a memorandum and assured me that he would direct the government to take action.

Responding to the memorandum, the Governor directed the state government to take up the repair of the road.  In a letter to the principal secretary to the Public Works Department, the Governor’s Secretary stated:  “I am directed to forward herewith the representation dated November 13, 2012, of Sri P.T. Bopanna, Bangalore, for taking the work early. Report on action taken on this matter may kindly be intimated to this Secretariat.”

The 45-km Hunsur-Gonikoppal Road connecting Mysuru and Kodagu districts had been in a pathetic state for many years, due to neglect by the authorities. It was dotted with large and deep potholes and many stretches had no surface at all as the macadamized layer had worn off, and the stones and dirt below were exposed. The ride was bone-rattling and stressful to both people and vehicles. And during the rains, it was truly a dangerous obstacle course.

In May 2012, I started a campaign through my news portal www.coorgtourisminfo.com to improve the condition of the road.
I also registered a petition with Petitions India, an online portal,
where netizens could register their protest. The petition was addressed to the then Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, K.G. Bopaiah, who represented the Virajpet Assembly constituency in Kodagu.

Though Bopaiah assured the public through the media that work on the road will be taken up, the assurance failed to materialize. With no relief in sight, I decided to open a Facebook page named ‘Repair Hunsur-Gonikoppal Road’.

With the Facebook campaign getting a positive response from the public, senior IAS officer P. Manivannan, took notice of the issue.  He was at the time, the chief project officer at Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project.

Manivannan convinced Dr H.C. Mahadevappa, the PWD minister, on the urgent need for starting the work. Though repair work on the road started off, it soon came to a standstill due to the non-release of payment to the contractors.

The governor’s direction had the desired result and the work commenced. However, the work had to be deferred due to the start of the monsoon. Subsequently, work could not be taken up due to non-availability of construction material. Work on the entire stretch was finally completed in February, 2015.

When the history of social media in Karnataka gets to be written, the Hunsur-Gonikoppal road project will go down as one of the first instances when people power forced a lethargic government to take notice of a social media campaign.

FOOTNOTE: Talking about the ongoing tussle between Raj Bhavan and the chief minister, I wish to note that I am an  admirer of  Siddaramaiah for his pro-poor policies. Not his Tipu agenda. When it is difficult for an ordinary citizen to get a house site, the family of a chief minister grabbing 14 sites in a prime locality of Mysuru, is ethically wrong. I wish Siddaramaiah will surrender the sites and continue as chief minister.  

Source: My Coorg Chronicles by Journalist P.T. Bopanna. Rolling Stone Publications, 2020. Paperback copies of the book is available on Amazon: