By SAT Community reporter
Melbourne, 27 April: The Victorian Budget presented yesterday in the Parliament has allocated $38.4 million for the duplication of Hallam Road between Ormond Road and the South Gippsland Highway as well as a major upgrade to the intersection of Hallam Road, Evens Road and South Gippsland Highway.
Labor activist and ex-federal candidate of Menzies, Manoj Kumar along with local residents had raised the issue for fixing the dangerous intersection of Hallam Rd, Evans Road and South Gippsland Highway at Hampton Park by introducing a Traffic management System.
The petition signed by residents in the Casey and surrounding areas were drawn to the attention of Luke Donnellan (then Shadow Roads Safety Minister) and local Cranbourne MP Hon. Jude Perera as a matter of urgency.
The petition also mentioned that during peak times of travel, motorists were finding it difficult to turn onto South Gippsland Highway. Local residents and devotees who visited the Lynbrook Sikh Temple found it difficult to pass through the junction.
The petitioners had requested the state government either to introduce traffic lights or the establishment of a roundabout at the intersection to alleviate this problem. Local MP Hon. Jude Perera pledged to take up this issue further after the Sikh Temple officials handed over a petition to him.
The petition was handed over to local MP Hon. Jude Perera by Temple officials in the presence of devotees, local residents, Shadow minister of Road Safety Hon. Luke Donnellan MP and Mr. Manoj Kumar local labor activist.
Later Mr. Manoj Kumar followed up the issue with Minister Hon.Luke Donnellan and MP and Hon. Jude Perera to get approval of funding for this project.
Talking to South Asia Times (SAT), Mr. Manoj Kumar expressed his happiness and gave credit for this achievement to the local residents, the Roads Safety minister Hon.Luke Donnellan MP and Hon. Jude Perera MP.
Mr.Kumar has urged the Casey Council to change the name of Evans Road to Nanaksar Road from the intersection till it meets Thomson Rd. to respect the 1st Sikh Guru ‘Guru Nanak Dev Ji’. The signature campaign for the same is already in progress.
– SAT News Service.
