Mangaluru: Lack of clarity between the State and central agencies appears to be delaying the proposed reconstruction work of the Shiradi Ghat, the vital link between the coast and the hinterland, on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru National Highway.
The contract for making a 13-km stretch Ghat road (Heggadde to Kempu Hole guesthouse) concrete was awarded back in May and the package, for making the remaining 13-km Ghat stretch (Kempu Hole guest house to Adda Hole near Gundya) concrete and the reconstruction of the bitumen of a 21-km stretch (Gulagalale near Salakeshpur to Heggadde), is yet to be awarded.
The second package got delayed as the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways took time to approve it under engineering, procurement and construction mode, a top Public Works Department official told The Hindu. The contract will shortly be awarded, he added.
Initially there was confusion as to who would undertake the reconstruction — the National Highways Authority of India, which was making the Hassan-B.C. Road stretch of the National Highway four-lane or the Public Works Department. Sorting out the issue took some time, he said.
Since July, the Public Works Department had been announcing the closure of the Ghat for vehicles from December 1. By mid-November, the closure was postponed by a fortnight and on Monday, the proposal was said to have been put on hold.
The result is that even if the Ghat is closed for traffic immediately, all that the authorities can allow now is making a small portion of the Ghat concrete.
Public Works Department’s National Highway Chief Engineer C. Mrithyunjaya Swamy, who visited the Ghat stretch on Monday, said that preparation for the reconstruction, like widening of culverts and construction of shoulder drains, which do not require diversion of traffic, have already been taken up.
The contractor, assigned with the reconstruction of the 13-km stretch, was unable to source adequate material and could commence the work immediately. Stretches of Mysore-Bantwal State Highway, including a few bridges, where heavy vehicles would move during Shiradi Ghat’s closure, are still incomplete
Minister for Public Works H.C. Mahadevappa is expected to visit the site on Thursday and hold meetings with the Deputy Commissioners of Hassan and Dakshina Kannada district before taking the final call.
Meanwhile, Public Work Department’s Shivamogga Circle has proposed to close the Agumbe Ghat for the reconstruction of the 2.4 km stretch with concrete for three months from December 21. Agumbe Ghat was identified as an alternative route for light vehicles during Shiradi Ghat’s closure.
Rs. 6 crore for temporary repairs
The State government has released Rs. 6 crore to undertake temporary repair works on the Shiradi Ghat which has gone back to its ‘original’ pothole and crater-ridden condition.
A top official in the Public Works Department told The Hindu that considering the delay in executing the reconstruction work, the department is undertaking the temporary works. About 30 km stretch of the ghat road has become almost non-motorable with gapping potholes and craters.
Reconstruction of Shiradi Ghat
Gulagalale near Salakeshpur to Heggadde, 21 km, strengthening of the bitumen surface, Rs. 35 crore; contract yet to be awarded Heggadde to Kempu Hole guesthouse, 13 km, reconstructing the road with 45 cm thick and 8.5 mt wide concrete, Rs. 69 crore
Tenders yet to be finalised for reconstructing another 13 km stretch with 45 cm thick and 8.5 mt wide concrete, Rs. 85 crore from Kempu Hole guest house to Adda Hole near Gundya
Reasons for delay
Incomplete upgradation works on Bantwal-Mysore State Highway, a major alternative road
Contractor’s inability to source adequate material for awarded 13 km stretch
Delay in awarding the contract for another 13 km concrete and 21 km bitumen road
