Caution! Death Spots on the newly opened Kadri-Nanthoor Road

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Caution! Watch Out for Death Spots on the newly opened Kadri-Nanthoor Road

Mangaluru: While Mangaluru is on the verge of becoming a “Smart City”, but it looks like there are not many “Smart” officials at the Mangaluru City Corporation who are not doing the city development work the right way-for example constructing new roads without a footpath/drainage- that’s absolutely not a “Smart” idea. Imagine constructing new roads and finishing them without any proper drainage or footpaths, and also leaving it incomplete with deep open pits at the sides of the road . It has happened in the past, and it has happened again with the incomplete Kadri-Nathoor Road which was open for motorists/public couple of days ago.Only if the concerned authorities or contractors in the past had used their common sense to build footpaths/drainage during the road construction work in the beginning itself-there would have been no need of breaking the roads now to make way for footpaths/drainage.

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Few days ago Minister Ramanath Rai along with MLAs and corporators inaugurated the new stretch of road and spoke good things about it-but he never mentioned anything about the safety hazards that this road is posing for the motorists and pedestrians. If you travel on this road from Kadri side towards Nanthoor, you will notice quite a few deep ditches on the side of the road, similarly there are a couple of them while coming down from Nanthoor to Kadri on this road. These ditches are not only dangerous for motorists but also for pedestrians taking this stretch, because of no footpaths. Chances are that vehicles may fall into this ditches and land deep below resulting in damages to the vehicle, and severe injuries or death to the commuters. Not only that at many spots mud, rocks, other debris dug out have been piled up on the road side causing inconvenience to the motorists and pedestrians.

It’s a pathetic scene out there, and one should be ashamed that a growing city like Mangaluru has to be in that kind of situation. Seems like it is in a state where nobody is taking responsibility and being held accountable with the result that having decent footpaths is of least importance. While pedestrians have been demanding even and continuous footpaths at least along main roads, nobody in the MCC have addressed these issues. It is sad to note that Major roads have not been cared to make pedestrian-friendly footpaths on the roadside. The prime importance on roads is for pedestrians but sadly in our culture, that is missing. Many of the streets have been mauled. The gradient of footpaths should facilitate easy and comfortable walking for the elderly and handicapped, but sadly our footpaths are broken at several points and never help the pedestrians, and many pedestrians are getting hurt due to dilapidated footpaths. This shows that the PWD/MCC has shown utter callousness in constructing a perfect footpath.

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Footpaths/drainage and complete work should be done right in the beginning, and not later in the months, where you have to did the sides again to construct footpaths etc, thereby ruin the new road. The vision of the road project is long-term and aims to avoid repeated digging up of roads by different civic agencies. The hope is that the roads will not be dug up again for years as different agencies are meant to be coordinating to finish the laying of pipes and cables that are needed during the during this project. While it is testing the patience of commuters, the project does have its supporters. There should be a new design of roads which are called integrated roads…well-designed footpaths for pedestrians. But there are the delays in the project due to the “contractors not doing an optimal job” as also the lack of “close synchronization in terms of various agencies in the government.

Pro-Cyclist Dony Menezes along with other cyclists of Mangalore Bicycle Club complaining about this road said, “Riding on this road during early morning or evening after dark is very dangerous. Without proper lighting on this road one could land up in the deep ditches around the sides of this road. For cyclists and even pedestrians this road seems to be dangerous, because without any barricades you may fall into these ditches when heavy vehicles ply close to the side of the road. Seems like our city officials don’t care for the safety of the cyclists nor pedestrians, they only care for the motorists. We are glad that Team Mangalorean, the only non-bias website highlights such kind of issues for the safety and benefit of the citizens”.

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In conclusion, It’s always advisable to build footpaths simultaneously when the road work is done and completed. Let’s have footpaths, with no more road digging, just like foreign countries. Let’s have safe roads with footpaths for people to walk safe on the road. Let’s have roads without any ditches or gorges so that motorists or pedestrians may not lose their limbs or arms. Authorities claim that the city will soon have world-class roads but citizens can’t help wishing that they don’t have to suffer moving on these hazardous roads.


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7 Comments

  1. Thanks and all the best. This exposure is indeed welcome. Mangaluru is now very much a nightmare for the common man on the road. There is hardly any safety or security on the roads here. It’s high time that some care, concern and responsibility is felt by the concerned authorities. Money and power are not the only things that matter, regulations and discipline are needed. Thanks again.

  2. 2 weeks back on same road young girl died. R we waiting for some more accidents to happen. Please finish footpath work before Monsoon starts.

  3. Well researched article on the issue, like always on many other civic issues. Thanks Mr Dsouza and team.

    It’s a sheer waste of tax-payers money, when roads are constructed like these when there is no safety for the pedestrians-dumb contractors and MCC officials-that is all I can say. Rest is history?

  4. Eye opener.. Sorry to say, how could they approve roads without completion. No safety for citizens. No road marking, No gutters, No footpaths.. No curbstones on edges of road, No safety signs,… then thinking about smart city. Politicians are not learning lessons from daily incidents happening in the city.. how could they inaugurate roads without basic requirement.

  5. Even in Udupi, the main roads and as well as bi-lanes are being constructed without the foresight for drainage and footpaths.
    The Public Works Minister should look into discrepancies whilst consultants carry out the designing, and whilst Contractors carry out such sub-standard construction.
    Pavements and drainage should be made mandatory on every road contracted – Road does not mean only for vehicles – where will the people walk, and where will the water go during monsoons?
    Safety Rail barriers should also be erected where there are steep heights and drops.
    Whilst the CM and all the politicians of Karnataka, Mangalore, and Udupi talk a lot on modernization let them not forget to know the basics of engineering and construction.
    All it takes is to take a walk on the main roads to understand the problem.

  6. Hello Alfie,

    I was actually waiting for someone to write an article on the same. There is no safety measures on either side. No footpaths. No Barricades. Even on the day while the road was inaugurated, there was sand and mud all over.

    3-4 years down the lane, the road will be dug again for rain water drain and footpaths causing inconvenience to common man.

    Our elected representatives turn a blind eye to the unfinished work .

  7. Mangaluru people fully deserve these things for electing leaders who are more interested in posing for camera at some ‘shilaaanyaasa samaarambha’ or ‘kabaddy’ event!!! Especially one of the elected representative is very good at lecturing on the importance of good infrastructure and facilities. But, you would never seen him doing any actual work or visiting these places. What’s more depressing is media’s laziness in calling out these leaders for failing to do their job. I guess all the outrage is only limited to BJP and RSS.

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