NH-63 only in the name

With potholes riddling the road between Ballari and Hosapete, it would in distaste to call the 60-km stretch a National Highway.

Though christened National Highway 63 nearly two decades, the road has eroded slowly due to neglect. It takes nearly 90 minutes to travel between the towns.

“I do not feel that I am driving on a highway. People are also fed up of assurances. Until, the road stretch is converted into a four-lane, can’t the ministers and authorities concerned ensure proper maintenance of the road?” H.S. Muralidhar, a businessman, asked.

He was referring to the statement by Minister H.C. Mahadevappa who, during the winter session of legislature held in Belagavi, announced that stretch would be converted into four-lane road. In the interim, he promised repair works. The government, he added, had spent around Rs. 7.89 crore over the last three years for maintenance of the road.

It is nearly a decade ago that the stretch between Ballari and Hosapete was proposed to be developed as a six-lane road in view of the heavy movement of vehicular traffic, especially transporting iron-ore after it saw a boom in 2002.

Though a survey was conducted and a detailed project report was prepared to lay the road on private-public partnership model and forwarded to the National Highway Authorities of India (NHAI), the work did not take off for want of bidders. Later, the proposal for six-lane was brought down to four lane. An agency, which had been allotted the tender backed out as the mining activities had come to a stand still following a ban imposed by the Supreme Court in July 2011.

Despite instructions from district in-charge minister, P.T. Parmeshwar Naik, the condition of the road has not improved. Recently, Mr. Naik gave instructions to take up repair works in view of Hampi Utsav, a three-day mega cultural festival of dance, drama and music fast approaching.