Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal (SP)

Bantwal, Nov 4: After huge wooden logs slid down from a truck that was carrying them at Donigal in Hassan district on Shiradi Ghat section of national highway 75 between Mangaluru and Bengaluru, traffic came to a standstill for over two hours. This happened on the evening of Sunday, November 3.

The portion of national highway at Donigal has been thoroughly damaged. Because of this, besides the dislodging of logs from the truck, the truck itself suffered lot of damages. As the logs were spread out on the highway, the vehicles found it impossible to move ahead. Vehicles queued up for several kilometres on both the sides. After an effort lasting two hours, the lorry and the logs were cleared from the highway, after which traffic was resumed.

The Shiradi Ghat stretch of the highway has many stretches where the road has suffered extensively and the road is full of pits and potholes. This has been creating problems for the vehicles, and traffic jam keeps happening often.

During the heavy rains, as a measure of temporary relief, sand-filled gunny bags had been stacked on the edges to avert landslides. Even now, the same bags can be found there and no permanent solution has been found. If heavy rain lashes the region now, these bags might get washed away on to the road and block the traffic, those using this road rue.

Bus drivers have been lamenting the fact that traffic jam extending to several hours has become a routine on Shiradi Ghat stretch of national highway 75.