The Hindu : Karnataka News : A blog for an insured road

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 23, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka

A blog for an insured road

Girish S. Pattanashetti

M.C. Sindhur of Hubli has started the blog

SAFE: The Timmasagar Temple Main Road in Hubli.

HUBLI: Reportedly the country’s first road belonging to a municipal corporation which got insured by a citizen in Hubli, has now got a blog started in its name.

Mrutunjay C. Sindhur, a medical practitioner who took the initiative in getting the road insured for Rs. 2 lakh, has now created a blog for the sake of creating awareness on the benefits of getting roads insured.

The blog, www.insuredroad.- blogspot.com, has all the details on the new initiative, which is now under consideration by the Limca Book of Records.

In the blog, Dr. Sindhur has explained why insuring a road was required and the benefits of it. The blog has details on the procedure for getting a road insured, who could insure a road and what documents were required for insuring a public road.

The blog has also details on the risks that were covered by the insurance, how the claims would be settled and how such road insurances would benefit the local civic bodies and how it would help the financial burden on the civic body concerned.

“For the first time, an initiative was taken to get a road insured. I wanted people in other places to know that such a thing was possible and also encourage them to take up such an initiative in their areas. So I started the blog,” Dr. Sindhur told The Hindu.

Although a busy medical practitioner, Dr. Sindhur has found time for getting himself involved in some social service activities. After getting the Timmasagar Temple Main Road at Vidyanagar insured, where his clinic is situated, he has now along with likeminded people from the locality taken up the responsibility of growing trees on either side of that road. Timmasagar Temple Main Road connects two arterial roads — the old National Highway No 4 at one end and the Unkal Hosur bypass road at the other.

The 385-metre long 9-metre wide road which was in a state of neglect for years was asphalted by Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation at a cost of Rs. 10.5 lakh during August 2007.

It was then that the idea of getting the road insured struck Dr. Sindhur. After he followed up the matter with the then municipal commissioner P. Manivannan, a “no objection certificate” was issued by the corporation for getting the road insured. Consequently, the road was insured by Dr. Sindhur through The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. The insurance company has issued a two-year policy for the Timmasagar Temple Main Road for a sum assured of Rs. 2 lakh carrying an annual premium of Rs. 303 Standard Fire and Peril Policy Schedule and Policy.

The insurance cover is now applicable to damage caused by fire, lightning, explosion, aircraft damage, malicious damage, natural calamities such as erosion due to excess rain, landslip and leakages in water pipeline.

As per the conditions, the amount pertaining to claims under the insurance policy would be directly credited by the insurance company into the bank account of the corporation.

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