Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (JD)

Udupi, Jan 24: ‘Welcome to the Golden Roads’, these are the lines written on a placard placed near a completely dusty road. The lines are written by a frustrated voter, a commuter of Shimbra-Kolalgiri road.

The much needed Shimbra-Kolalgiri Parari bridge was completed a few years ago. But the access road is yet to be completed on the Perampalli side. The bridge which was a dream project of former minister Pramod Madhwaraj was built at a cost of Rs 16.22 crore. The bridge was intended to be one of the prime commuting routes between Kundapur and Manipal. It was a cost effective route and took less time for the commuters to reach the district headquarters.

Being an important project, the access roads on Perampalli end faced many problems-first being the land acquisition. The issue was resolved after many rounds of talks by the current MLA Raghupati Bhat. But the road work is facing hurdles one after another. At present the work is delayed due to the laying of water pipes for the Varahi drinking water project. "The Varahi pipeline project underway in this area will be completed in 10-15 days. There is no shortage of funds for the road project. Within two months of time the road work will be finished. There is a plan to develop the Shimbra-Perampally-Sagri-Indrali road at a cost of Rs 7 crore," says Raghupati Bhat.

But this largely commuted road witnesses minor accidents daily. As it will reduce the travel time and distance three fold, the road is largely used by two wheelers and four wheelers. Commuters coming to Manipal from Kundapur-Brahmavar-Kolalgiri are using this road day and night. But the bad road conditions are creating more problems for the commuters.

This road is currently completely filled with gravel stones and mud. The dust produced by heavy vehicles like trucks plying the road is causing a lot of inconvenience to commuters with smaller vehicles. Apart from being a shortcut to Manipal - Kundapur, the road is also used by many localities on a daily basis. The households situated on both the sides of this road are covered with dust owing to the incomplete works. Many of the residents sprinkle water everyday twice in a bid to reduce the dust.

Speaking to daijiworld.com, Mathew D'Souza, a resident said, "My house is located around 15 feet away from the road but still the dust is causing much trouble. Our health is also affected due to the incomplete works. Many minor accidents keep happening. Officials have to act immediately and grant us relief."

The administration needs to speed up the work and give respite to the commuters and local residents.