Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Sep 4: The service road that is adjacent to the Kuntikan flyover on national highway 66 has not been repaired since long. The vehicles find it very difficult to navigate this road.

The service road which leads down near Lohith Nagar when coming to the city from Kottara Chowki has BMS Hotel on the left and Advaith Hyundai and passes from near Bharath Auto Works. After crossing Kuntikan Junction, the road passes in front of A J Hospital and Kadri station of fire brigade before joining the highway thereafter. People going to Derebail, Konchadi, KSRTC bus stand etc have to use this road.

For underground drainage work, the city corporation has dug a pit in the middle of the road. After laying the pipe, the hole has been closed by filling sand. Even though several years have passed, the road has not been re-asphalted. A few days back, a mixture of crushed stones and cement was laid on the road, but because of rain, this mixture has peeled off and potholes have taken shape. The movement of ambulances poses an additional challenge to the road users. The locals say that whenever rainfall is less, the road gives rise to the new problem of clouds of dust.

Kulur

The service road beside the Kulur flyover too has become wretched. It is very difficult to move from Kulur till Kodical as the road is full of bumps and potholes. It is very difficult to avoid any of the potholes here. Often the drivers of lorries and tankers park their trucks by the side of service road to take rest. These lorries occupy half of the road, which makes it hard for other vehicles to move about. In some cases, people moving on two-wheelers at night were robbed at this spot.

"National Highways Authority is responsible for laying tar to Kuntikan service road and make it fit for travel. I have spoken to highway authorities. I have also urged them to attend to repairs of Kulur and Pumpwell service roads," said city mayor Divakar Pandeshwar.

A social worker, G K Bhat, said that Kuntikan service road had been dug up to lay underground drainage pipeline, but after the work, the road was never repaired. He said that vehicular movement is very difficult on this road and development works are not undertaken to match the status of the city as a smart city.