Deccan Herald

• Jyoti-Hampankatta Road may take a few more months
• Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) has been assuring international standard works in the city under Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan projects.

Mangalore, Aug 8: City Corporation (MCC) has been assuring ‘international standard’ works in the city under Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan projects. If Mangaloreans want to have a glimpse of this assured international standards all they have to do is take a stroll along the newly concreted road from Jyoti Circle to Hampankatta (old service bus stand).

This stretch of road was inaugurated by former mayor Vijaya Arun, on the last day of her term as mayor, right at a point of time when lots more was still left to be done. While the construction works were going on, the entire city traffic routes went wayward as this is a very important road that connects the rest of the city to State Bank.

The repair work of this crucial road can only be an example for administration going awry as the new road could not bring in any substantial change for the good. The traffic snarls and problems of pedestrians have only worsened.

The entire project was to concrete 2.3 kms from Pumpwell to Syndicate Bank (near Old Service Bus Stand) at a cost of Rs 16.3 crores.

The said stretch of road which is 675 mts long is being taken up at a cost of Rs 2.5 crores. This road is the first phase of the total project and is the only two lane stretch while rest is all four lane roads to be taken up.
 
The works were started in February and as per the local NGOs, the authorities concerned had assured that the road would be ready by April. But the road was put to use only in June and it is still in a mess, posing inconvenience to the commuters and the pedestrians.

There are no proper pavements and footpaths and all that the pedestrians have for a footpath are the narrow concrete covers of the drainage.

This so called footpath is about a foot above the ground on either side and is so narrow that only one person can walk at a time.

One of the elderly pedestrian says that a bank employee who was on her way back from work toppled from the footpath and fell injuring herself.  “Several NGOs have been demanding for safe pavements for the elderly and these pavements are not safe for anybody,” he adds.

Citizens Forum for Mangalore Development joint co-ordinate Vidya Dinker says that when huge money is being poured, the authorities should have planned it well. “If a two lane road of not even a one-meter length will take about 6 months to complete, then how long will the four lane works in the proposed area take is a point to ponder,” she says.

The roadside development designs must incorporate tree spots before it is tendered out. On this stretch of road, the Forest Department has haphazardly planted saplings without informing the Kudcemp authorities who will surely remove them while electrification works.  As per Kudcemp Executive Engineer Pasha, Mangaloreans will have to put up with the narrow footpaths for some more time as he says that due to heavy rains, they can not proceed with the works.