If Google maps are to be believed, 8.5-km ride from Thokkottu to Konaje should not take more than 12 minutes. But, the condition of the road is such that today the commuting time has doubled.
“Earlier, I used to reach office by 9 a.m. Now I am late by 10-12 minutes,” said Prathap Nair, faculty member at Yenepoya Dental College. Traffic jams are very common,” he rues.
Though the road connects eight premier educational institutions including Mangalore University, Yenepoya University and houses offices of IT majors such as Infosys and Wipro, the entire stretch is riddled with potholes. The construction debris dumped on either side of the road has led to a number of accidents.
Motorists plying on this stretch have to cut down on their speed to avoid their vehicles getting damaged. If you manage to escape one pothole, the chances are that several of them will catch you unawares, warns a motorist.
Those proceeding to Konaje from Mangalore have to turn to left at Thokkottu circle, which is liberally strewn with potholes — there are at least seven of them.
The Deralkatte-Asaigoli-Mangalagangothri stretch has withstood monsoon, it appears. But, when you turn towards the University campus a multitude of potholes greet you, challenging the skill of vehicle users, particularly the two-wheeler rider.
In response to appeals to speak up about potholes in the city two students from the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Mangalore University, Naveen Menezes and Madesha Bhajanthri, sent this article on the Thokkottu-Konaje Road. Mr. Bhajanthri has captured the accompanying pictures.
