An MLC keeps his word, shows Gokak the road to development

BELGAUM, FEB 21: Traditionally, members of the Upper House or the Legislative Council are known more for their erudition, if at all, than ...

BELGAUM, FEB 21: Traditionally, members of the Upper House or the Legislative Council are known more for their erudition, if at all, than their actions. No wonder then that its always the people8217;s representatives in the Lower House or the Assembly who are known to nurse their constituencies and therefore wield more influence generally. But there are always exceptions.

Setting the exceptional example is Satish Jarkiholi, an MLC from Gokak. In less than three months a target he set for himself he has single-handedly managed to fund and implement road repairs over a stretch of 56.5 km and managed to shift and order the reconstruction of 14 minor bridges in his constituency, most of which had been built as far back as in 1924.

It was an electoral promise that he made to his voters. Work on the identified areas was taken up on November 16, 1999 and the deadline set by him was February 29, 2000. Now it seems that he has indeed kept his promise. And what8217;s more, all the repair work has been funded byhim.

To begin with, it seemed an almost impossible task. The condition of the roads in Gokak were bad, to say the least. And Jarkiholi had first-hand experience of it during the campaigning he did for his brother Ramesh Jarkiholi, who contested the Assembly seat on a Congress ticket during the last elections.

Though it was his brother who swept the polls with a record number of votes, it was Jarkiholi who decided that the terrible roads of Gokak needed improving. The decision was followed by a survey of roads in the Gokak assembly constituency by experts who identified civil works that needed to be taken up on an urgent basis. Repairs, construction of new roads, shifting of bridges, asphalting of roads and planting of trees were among requirements spelt out by the surveyors at an estimated cost of Rs 2.40 crore.

The state government, however, was not in a position to sanction the amount without the usual procedure which was bound to take time. So Satish Jarkiholi decided to do it on his own. With just75 men working every day and a daily financial outgo of Rs 40,000, he has managed to complete the work on time and also furnished a six-year guarantee on these roads from engineers. What8217;s more, since there was no question of paying any commission to any official, the cost of the projects too were much less as compared to other work taken up by government agencies, says Jarkiholi proudly.

8220;The common people just want good roads, schools, hospitals and drinking water facilities. They never ask us for the sun and the moon. So if we cannot provide them with these basic minimum facilities, what is the use of being a people8217;s representative?8221; he asks.

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A good question but one that perhaps more people8217;s representatives should be asking. For the moment, Satish Jarkiholi has certainly shown the way.