About ₹12 crore spent on laying a fresh coat of bitumen on the 10-km stretch of Bengaluru-Mangaluru National Highway 75 from Sakleshpur to Maranahalli appears to have been washed away within eight months despite the absence of heavy rains during this monsoon.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is widening NH 75 to four lanes between Hassan and Maranahalli, had got the battered Sakleshpur-Maranahalli stretch repaired in April 2023 at a cost of ₹12 crore. The stretch had been in a pathetic condition ever since landslides affected the region in 2018.
Roshan Sequeira from Mangaluru, who regularly drives to Bengaluru, told The Hindu that the newly laid bitumen has worn out. This time, NHAI cannot blame heavy rains for the wearing out of the road surface. Road users are again forced to travel amidst dust, he lamented.
Road users are again forced to travel amidst dust on the battered 10-km stretch of Bengaluru-Mangaluru National Highway 75 between Sakleshpur-Maranahalli. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Though the stretch is a part of the four-lane package, the NHAI is yet to commence even the earth work between Sakleshpur and Maranahalli.
Parikshith Shetty from Bantwal said the situation is likely to continue till summer-end when NHAI puts a fresh coat of bitumen just before the onset of monsoon.
Almost every road user and various trade bodies, including Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, have been complaining about the pathetic condition of NH 75 between Hassan and B.C. Road in Dakshina Kannada district. While four-lane work between Hassan and Sakleshpur and from Addahole to B.C. Road is progressing at a snail’s pace, inconveniencing road users, the Sakleshpur-Maranahalli stretch is in shambles.
Potholes on concrete stretch of NH 75
In a reflection of the quality of work, potholes and craters have emerged on the concrete stretch of Shiradi ghat of NH 75, exposing iron rods beneath on a few culverts near the Chowdeshwari temple on the Dakshina Kannada-Hassan district border, said Mr. Shetty.
The deterioration of the road on the stretch of concrete near Chowdeshwari temple has exposed iron rods, on Shiradi ghat on Bengaluru-Mangaluru National Highway 75. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Concrete was laid on the Shiradi ghat stretch of NH 75 in two phases, ending in 2018. Potholes have emerged within six years, he complained.
Published - January 01, 2024 01:38 pm IST
