Stephen Kayyar
Daijiworld Media Network - Kasargod (MS)
Kasargod, Jul 24: Nine people have lost their lives in the past 15 days on the Kasargod-Talapady national highway due to the mess that is created on it. Around 20 people have been seriously injured and are being treated in various hospitals.
On July 9, in a collision between a jeep and truck at Uppala Nayabazar, six people of Talapady K C Road, lost their lives. This accident took place when the truck driver tried to avoid a pothole on the road.
On July 14, Veera Basappa (45), a resident of Haveri, lost his life when his bike fell into a ditch on the road and skidded viciously.
On the night of Sunday, July 22, two young siblings lost their lives in the serial accident between bus, car, and bikes that took place at Adkathbail near here. Ten people were injured in the serial accident. On the spot of the accident, the road is completely filled with potholes and this accident also occurred when the vehicle drivers tried to avoid them while driving.
The stretch from Talapady to Kasargod on the main national highway 66 between Karnataka and Kerala is completely damaged. Huge craters are formed on the roads, because of which there are frequent accidents.
It is five years since this road was asphalted. During this period, even the work of filling the potholes is not done. The asphaltization of this road was stopped due to the project of converting the stretch of road into four lanes by the state government in 2016.
From Talapdy till Kasargod, one can see only potholes. The vehicle drivers have to search the road among the potholes and drive. The areas mainly affected are Talapady, Manjeshwar, Uppala, Kumble, Peruvadu, Mogral, Chowki, Kopparaburja, Adkathbail, Talipadpu and Karandakkadu.
Several meters of the road on the Kumble bridge and in front of Kanipur Gopalkrishna temple is totally washed off and dangerous potholes are formed. There is always a line of vehicles from the Kumble junction till Arikkadi. Smooth traffic is just a dream now on this stretch of the national highway.
Many of the private buses are cutting their trips as they are not able to reach on time due to the potholes.
The concerned government officials are saying that they had sent a proposal of Rs 2.10 crore in order to fill the potholes. However, only Rs 70 lac has been sanctioned. Hence they are saying that it is not possible to fill all the potholes.
In the state of Karnataka, national highway 66 was widened to 60 meters till Talapady. However, this development did not proceed further. In Kerala, it has been years since the proposal was sent to widen the highway to 40 meters. But the final decision is still pending due to technical and local issues. The lacklustre attitude of both the government and people's representatives is also one of the factors for this mess.
Though NH 66 is the main connecting road between the states of Karnataka and Kerala, the governments are not bothered to pay attention to its development and maintenance. This road is used by thousands of people every day for education, business, medical and other necessities of life. It is being used by numerous vehicles plying between both states. However, it is a pity that no attention is given to the pathetic condition of this road.
It seems there is no value for human life on this stretch of the national highway. Though several people have lost their lives, the administration does not seem to be bothered.
Private bus owners to stop plying buses
The owners of private buses have decided to stop running their buses on Kasaragod-Talapady road if the national highway is not repaired at the earliest.
The Private Bus Owners' Association has warned the administration that they will have to stop the transport of buses as the spare parts of the buses are getting damaged due to the potholes. Moreover, they are forced to cut their trips as the buses are not able to maintain the time due to the bad condition of the road. The fuel factor is also adding an extra burden on them.