MANGALURU: The National Highway 75 that connects Mangaluru and Bengaluru has turned into a nightmare for thousands of people who regularly commute along this road. Because of the pathetic condition of the road, the journey of 350 km, which otherwise takes seven to eight hours, now takes no less than 10-12 hours. To compound matters, the traffic too has increased in the last few days with people heading to Mangaluru because of Deepavali.
The road has turned from bad to worse, particularly between BC Road and Sakleshpur, and the incomplete road-widening works has only added to the problem. During nights, commuting on the stretch becomes risky because of heavy traffic caused by buses, bullet tankers and goods trucks. Such is the state of the road that Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister JC Madhuswamy’s SUV got struck in slush at Aranapade near Charmady village of Belthngady taluk on Saturday.
Fed up with the authorities not chipping in with any solution, citizens have launched a Twitter campaign with the hashtag #SaveNH75. While many Twitterati have demanded the immediate intervention of the Centre and state government, some have invited Union Transport Minister Nithin Gadkari to travel on the road to get a feel of the road users’ agony.
Traffic jams have also become common in the Shirady Ghat section leading to doubling of the time taken to pass the stretch. The rains in the region has only worsened the situation for road users. Vehicles getting stuck in large slushy craters has become the order of the day adding to traffic jams.
Prashant Nayak from Ullal near Mangaluru, who works in a private company in Bengaluru, said he experienced one of the most horrible journeys on the stretch on Friday because of the potholed roads. “It took almost 11 hours to reach Mangaluru from Bengaluru. The journey was back breaking,” he said, urging the authorities to give immediate attention towards it.
AN NHAI official admitted that the road has turned worse in some stretches, especially between Addahole and BC Road, but expressed helpless on repairs being carried out now because of the rains. He said the patch works will likely start once the monsoon ends. Sources said the bidding for widening of BC Road-Addahole stretch of the highway is also expected soon.
Minister’s MUV stuck in slush
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy’s SUV was struck in slush at Aranapade near Charmady village of Belthngady taluk on Saturday. The minister was returning after an inspection of flood-affected villages like Perlani and Kolambe when his vehicle got struck. However, locals helped him and within half an hour, he continued on his journey.