‘Repair Karkala main road’ plea

It is not just the monsoon that worsens the Karkala main road, the quality of roadwork is so poor that it does not last long.

The Rotary Club has demanded the immediate repair of the pothole-riddled main road linking Ananthashayana Temple to Bandimath Bus Stand in Karkala.

President of the Club Jyoti Padmanabh said that during the monsoon, the authorities blamed heavy rains for the bad shape of the road. But even when repair works were undertaken after the monsoon earlier, the road returned to its old state within a few months. This betrayed the poor quality of road work, she said.

Keeping in mind the increased traffic flow, there was a proposal to widen the main road.

Some efforts in this direction were initiated by the then Deputy Commissioner P. Hemalatha in 2010, who walked along the road requesting shop owners and residents to part with the lands for a good cause.

Majority of the people, she said, willingly complied and road widening work started. But lack of support from the residents resulted in the roads and drains being partially dug up in places, hindering the flow of traffic as well as pedestrians.The recent heavy rainfall, she said, had worsened the quality of the road making it virtually unmotorable. More area is now covered by potholes than tarred surfaces along major stretches of the main road, causing great hardship to riders of two-wheelers and autorickshaws. It’s a struggle for drivers to dodge the potholes.

The club organised an Awareness Campaign on August 13 to draw attention of the authorities to the sorry state of the roads. It also submitted a memorandum to the Karkala tahsildar and president of the Karkala Town Municipal Council.

When the club members interacted with the officials, they attributed the poor condition of the road to lack of cooperation from the people on either side of the road who have not yet parted with their land. The land acquisition should be done in a just and appropriate manner, the club said.

The authorities, she said, should ensure that the quality of roads adhered to the standards set by National Highway Authority of India and recommendations of Central Road Research Institute, keeping in mind the local weather conditions and the traffic flow.

The members of club with expertise in the fields concerned were willing to offer professional advice to ensure best quality of roads in the town, the release added.