With Mudigere witnessing incessant heavy rain over the last few days, travelling to Mangaluru or Dharmasthala via Charmadi Ghat has become an arduous task. At least three days in a week, vehicles are getting stuck in the ghat section due to traffic jams, forcing travellers to spend long hours sitting in their vehicles. Many people, who have relatives and friends in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, are postponing their visit considering the present state of roads.
“I was stuck in Charmadi Ghat for eight hours, two days back,” said S. Ganesh, native of Kundapura. He returned to Hassan after a two-day visit to his native place on Monday. Especially in the week-end, the vehicles get stuck for long hours in the Charmadi Ghat stretch. Even a minor accident in the stretch would cause heavy traffic jam, rendering hundreds of vehicles stranded for long hours. As the stretch is narrow, rescue vehicles struggle to reach the spot quickly.
“I bought a new car. Earlier, I was planning to go to my native place, near Kasargod, with my family in the new car. But, after going through the reports of traffic jams in the Charmadi Ghat stretch, I changed my plan. We will wait till August, when Shiradi Ghat stretch is expected to be opened up for vehicles,” said Uday, resident of Hassan, who keeps visiting Kasargod frequently.
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The number of vehicles plying on the Charmadi Ghat stretch has gone up since the closure of the Shiradi Ghat stretch of National Highway 75 for repair work, which is expected to be completed by August.