The poor condition of the road on the Shiradi Ghat stretch and frequent breaking down of heavy vehicles, especially containers at night, is causing hardship to thousands travelling between Bengaluru and coastal districts.
On Friday, owing to the break down of three containers at various locations between Maranahalli and Sakleshpur, traffic piled up and buses took three to four additional hours to reach their destinations.
Subramanya, a passenger of a KSRTC bus said, “I boarded an Airavata Club Class bus at Udupi at 10 p.m. Usually, the bus reaches Bengaluru at 6.30 a.m. On Friday, it reached at 10 a.m. Travelling through the ghats is a terrible experience. Even while travelling in multi-axle AC buses, one has to deal with how bad the roads are here. Only after the bus reaches Hassan, can passengers get some sleep,” he said.
A KSRTC official said that due to the breaking down of heavy containers on Friday, 50 of its services between Mangaluru to Bengaluru were affected. “A delay in services owing to the poor condition of the road and breaking down of buses is becoming a daily affair. After Maranahalli till Sakleshpur, the condition of the road is pathetic. When we approached the NHAI, they told us the State government will take up maintenance work by the first week of November. There is no alternative route for Shiradi Ghat. Charamadi ghat is closed for heavy vehicles and only light motor vehicles are allowed on that stretch,” he said.
Besides KSRTC buses, hundreds of passengers rely on private buses to travel between Bengaluru and coastal districts.
