Daijiworld Media Network - Beltangady (SP)

Beltangady, Jan 3: Shiradi Ghat stretch of national highway 66 has been closed as announced. It is however, said that the contractors have not yet stored goods like crushed stones, bitumen, etc so far although they were asked to do so sufficiently in advance to complete work on time. As the road closure was also postponed, there is doubt about the completion of the road repair and development works getting completed before the onset of monsoon next year.

On the very first day of road closure, traffic blocks started occurring since afternoon on Charmadi Ghat road. After too many vehicles suddenly started to move on Charmadi Ghat stretch, this road soon got saturated and the vehicles got stranded as this road is narrow. At one time, a long line of vehicles extending to 30 km was formed. A handful of policemen from Banakal and Beltangady stations struggled to clear the block and pave way for smoother traffic but reckless drivers and narrow, winding road caused traffic snarls time and again.

On Friday night, long line of buses was found at Charmadi Ghat road. This stretch of the road does not have any facilities for passengers, and passengers had to suffer as they were kept waiting for hours before the buses moved forward. The department failed to take advance actions like widening of roads, clearing of weeds, posting of enough policemen to manage the traffic, and remove mounds of mud from the roadsides.

In the meanwhile, to obviate problems of passengers because of sudden disappearance of buses on Upppinangady and B C Road stretch of the road, Dakshina Kannada district deputy commissioner, A B Ibrahim, has instructed divisional controller of KSRTC Puttur to run buses on Uppinangady-Nelyady-Shiradi-Gundia route and also between Uppinangady-Mani-B C Road and Mangalluru. He said this is being arranged to provide relief to passengers and students who suffer on account of shortage of buses due to the diversion of buses bound for Bengaluru from national highway 75.