Daijiworld Media Network – Puttur (SP)

Puttur, Dec 7: It was revealed by state public works department minister, C M Udasi, on Monday December 6 that the union government, which had sanctioned Rs 138 crore for the re-asphalting of Shiradi Ghat stretch of national highway 48 between Mangalore and Bangalore, has not released any amount for this purpose so far. 

The people of the state, and particularly of Dakshina Kannada district, heavily depend on national highway 48 to reach Bangalore and other parts of the state on the other side of the Ghat. Since the last several years, this stretch of the road is in a despicable condition, after trucks loaded with iron ore started moving on this road. As a result, people have been suffering a lot because of delays, accidents, damages to vehicles etc., while negotiating this road.

It may be recalled that after the union transport minister announced that the above amount had been sanctioned, several leaders had vied with each other to claim credit for the same, saying that this was possible because of their efforts. However, none of them have questioned why this sum has not been released, even after the entire asphalting of Shiradi Ghat stretch of the national highway has peeled off, and a number of pot holes are dotting this road.

Unless this road is repaired urgently, at least by the beginning of the next rainy season, this portion of the national highway will remain a nightmarish stretch of mud road interspersed with crushed stones and pot holes. It is not known as to whether the MPs from Hassan and Dakshina Kannada are seized of the matter. The concreted stretches of the road have also started getting damaged, and one shudders to imagine the condition of the road, which is fast eroding, in the coming two to three months.