NH 75 repair works againwashed away in rain

Hassan-Maranahalli and Addahole-BC Road stretches posing challenge to drivers

A sum of about ₹ 15 crore public money spent by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for filling potholes and craters on National Highway 75 between Hassan and BC Road in January has gone waste, as it were, as the work has again been washed away in the recent spell of rain.

Besides exposing the poor quality of work, the re-emergence of potholes and craters between BC Road and Addahole in Dakshina Kannada (63 km) and Maranahalli and Hassan (50 km) in Hassan district has put thousands of road users in severe discomfort.

Travelling between Hassan and Mangaluru has never been pleasant, for over two decades now, because of the poor condition of National Highway 75 that has seen periodical repairs worth hundreds of crores of rupees in these years. The only solace has been the 25-km Shiradi Ghat stretch that was given a concrete surface recently.

With the NHAI failing to implement the four-laning work between Hassan-Maranahalli and Addahole-BC Road commissioned in 2016, there appears to be no end for the woes of road users between the two cities. NHAI has now decided to award fresh contracts for the execution of the four-lane work, and this is expected to take another three years to be completed.

Road repairs that get washed away during the monsoon every year appears to have become an annual affair, regretted Mani Gopal Pai, a native of Mani in Bantwal taluk.

NHAI should have either completed the four-laning work or at least kept the road motorable. Spending crores of rupees of public money on filling potholes that only sustain for about four months is not good for anyone, said Sandeep Bhandary, a regular traveller on the stretch.

The condition of National Highway 75 in Hassan district too is not different, said Dinesh Shetty, another regular traveller. A drive between Maranahalli and Hassan, that used to take less than an hour, now takes more than two hours, he lamented.

Private vehicle users have now started using the Charmadi Ghat (BC Road, Belthangady, Mudigere, Hassan) to avoid the battered National Highway 75, said Mahesh.

NHAI’s project director in Mangaluru Shishu Mohan told The Hindu that a ₹ 18-crore contract for filling potholes between BC Road and Addahole has been awarded. However, work could not be taken up in view of the continuous rain. For now, potholes and craters are being temporarily filled with wet mix, he added.

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