An unyielding Forest Department that stalled the widening of the 21 km single-lane carriageway into a two-lane carriageway has compelled the Chikkamagaluru district administration to ban heavy goods vehicles between S.K. Border and Sringeri from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The department is claiming threat to wildlife as the road passes through the Kudremukh National Park.
The move has severely affected transportation of goods, particularly construction material from Mangaluru and other parts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts to Sringeri, Koppa, Narasimharajapura and Shivamogga, regret residents of the area. The 21 km stretch between S.K. Border and Nemmar features winding terrain with sharp curves and the carriageway is just 3.75 m wide.
Sringeri-based advocate G.M. Satish said the government had sanctioned ₹24 crore for the widening even as it was prepared to handover 28 acres of revenue land to the department in lieu of 14 acres of forest land sought to be used for widening the stretch. However, the 9th Wildlife Committee meeting chaired by the Chief Minister refused to grant permission for the road widening, he said.
Residents’ plea
Residents of Kerekatte and surrounding areas had petitioned the administration about the hardships being caused by the movement of multi-axle goods vehicles. With the road not being widened, these vehicles are damaging the only available road and also causing accidents and traffic blocks, they said, and urged the administration to ban their movement at least during the day.
Two bridges, across Thunga and Korakana Halla, are already unstable and might collapse denying their only outlet to the external world if heavy vehicles continue to ply. Following reports from the Police, Transport and Public Works Departments, Chikkamagaluru Deputy Commissioner G. Satyavathi recently passed the order banning heavy goods vehicles (six-wheel or more).
Superintendent of Police K. Annamalai said the move became inevitable as the road was not allowed to be widened. Every month, 12-13 accidents used to happen and there used to be frequent traffic blocks, he said. Alternative routes, namely, Kudremukh, Hulikal Ghat and Charmadi Ghat are available for movement of heavy goods vehicles.
Repairs also not permitted
Let alone permitting the widening of the 21 km stretch of NH 169 between S.K. Border and Nemmar, the Forest Department is not even allowing the repair of the existing road and its shoulders and the cutting of shrubs and branches jutting onto the road. Consequently, hundreds of tourist vehicles move on this stretch with great difficulty.
Sources in the National Highway Division of Public Works Department told The Hindu that shoulders of the road have eroded creating a gap of up to 2 ft from road surface to the shoulder, which is highly dangerous to small vehicles. Shrubs and branches are affecting visibility, sources said.
Advocate G.M. Satish from Sringeri said tourists from outside were main victims as they set out on the road without knowledge of its condition. Local residents have almost stopped using the stretch and prefer Agumbe Ghat instead, he said.
S.K. Border is the shortest route between Sringeri and Karkala (61.5 km); Mangaluru (110 km) and Dharmasthala (105 km) while other routes involve taking detours, he added.
