Slush-filled road inconveniences motorists

Motorists are facing a lot of problems as the stretch from B C Road Brahmasri Narayana Guru Circle to Punjalkatte has turned slushy due to the road widening works.

The 20 km-long stretch is part of NH 234 connecting Mangaluru to Villupuram (Tamil Nadu).

The road widening work is taken up at a total cost of Rs 98 cr. The first four kilometres of the stretch starting from B C Road will be concreted over and widened as a four-lane stretch. The remaining 16 km will be widened and asphalted.

The road would be widened to 10 metres from the existing 5.5 metres, almost double in size. The concreting of the stretch from B C Road to Jakribettu has already begun on one side of the road with the other side being covered in slush. Many motorists in order to avoid the slush and inconvenience are now using B C Road- Bantwal Pete road to reach Jakribettu.

But local residents from Bhandaribettu, Ajekala and Bantwal Bypass are forced to travel on the slush-filled road daily. Many vehicles get stuck in the slush daily. The vehicles owners have to seek assistance from nearby shopkeepers and hotels to extricate the vehicles from the slush almost daily, a commuter said.

Owing to the pathetic condition of the road, shops, bakeries, garage and others in the commercial complexes adjacent to the road have no business. The work on the road had remained suspended during lockdown and begun during the monsoon, local residents said.

The motorists have urged the authorities to accelerate the work at the earliest. Of the 60-km stretch from Mangaluru to Belthangady, the 20-km stretch from B C Road to Punjalakatte is difficult to travel. Thus the authorities had decided to widen the road for smooth flow of traffic.