Drive or Ride at Your Own Risk on the Pathetic, Disgraceful & Disastrous ‘VAS LANE’ in City
Mangaluru: In response to an email message sent to Mangalorean.com by Nizamuddin Paika, where he had mentioned, ” The work from Unity hospital towards Mangalore nursing home road (Vas lane) is moving like a snail. I’m a tenant in this area. However, the work started long back. The road concrete in front of Unity Hospital started at least three weeks ago, now one side of the road is not completed. The contractor is not at all interested in this work. He has sublet the ongoing work to someone who doesn’t know how to proceed with the work. This junction/area is so congested and always gets blocked due to the lack of accessibility. So please bring this to the notice of the authorities through the media. Hope you will consider my request, Thanking you” -Nizam- and this morning (Thursday) Team Mangalorean took a ride through the said ‘VAS LANE’, and the rest was history.
No doubt at all, that the travel on this Pathetic VAS LANE stretch Is akin to a Ride On A ‘Camel’s‘ Back- Just Bumpy! While the MLA and Mangaluru City Corporation are busy with remaining roads and Circles, have turned a Blind Eye to the Pathetic and half finished work on this Lane. Travelling half-finished a nightmare if you are not cautious- your vehicle, especially a two-wheelers, could land into the deep side ditches, left with no barricades or caution signs,
Once a nice looking VAS LANE layered with interlock bricks a few years ago, at present it is very shameful to explain, however, if you describe the condition of this stretch of the Lane, it is nothing but in SHAMBLES, PATHETIC and very DISGRACEFUL, and DISASTROUS? But has anyone living on this road, from RICH people to common persons ever complained to the concerned authorities, or if they have raised their voices on the issue, then probably the concerned officials have remained quiet! How about the area ward corporator, who was voted to represent them in their civic issues?
With busy traffic taking this route has formed a worst-case scenario for repair crews who are struggling to find and fix all the unfinished work. But are they doing the job right? I don’t think so. By the way, have you taken VAS LANE recently- If you haven’t, please try to stay away from it! Where is the Mayor? Where is the DC? Where is the Ward Corporator? Where are the PWD and District Administration Authorities? The construction plan for this Lane now is a total mess. Vas Lane is where you find the best cream of the society living in posh houses, then there are expensive apartments, and not to mention, UNITY HOSPITAL, where it is busy with patients flocking day and night. Imagine ambulances taking this pathetic road with patients inside- a sick person will be more sick after he or she is transported to Unity Hospital or any other nearby hospital through this road.
Just look at the pictures, you will know what I am talking about. Quite a few residents have given few cents of their property for the widening of Vas Lane, even though they have not been compensated for their land, other than TDA (which is nothing but a joke), and the residents who have donated their land are facing hardships entering their property, since the work is incomplete, and no workers have been seen for weeks, as per two residents who obliged to give away few cents for a good cause. At many entrances to homes and apartments on this Lane, with mud, sand, bricks, construction materials etc scattered, the residents are facing hardship to enter their premises. With no safety measures taken by the contractor or engineer, the residents and others taking this Lane are risking their lives.
It’s simply chaos at the moment driving or riding on Vas Lane, and there has been traffic congestion all the time, with the mess left behind by the incomplete work. Does anyone care about it? NO! Hard-earned tax-payers money is wasted on bad planning of roads, footpaths, drainage etc. Yes, in Mangaluru lately we have been seeing new roads being constructed-the road widening was proposed as a solution to the traffic congestion in this growing city with lots of traffic and commuters.
India’s education hub, Mangaluru has an abundance of charms but its roads and traffic are not among them. The roads are narrow and the network is woefully scanty, despite the fast-paced growth and exploding vehicle population in this city. Roads are so wretched that helpless residents can only make light of the misery by creating pothole-counting face-offs and crater-measuring contests. But when they decide to build new roads, they are not planned properly.
Instead of fixing bad roads and lanes FIRST, our MCC/MSCL officials are busy resurfacing inner lanes with brand-new interlock bricks and concentrating more on renaming Roads/Lanes and Circles. But when it comes to fixing the bad roads they are slow and careless. As long as cheap quality tar is being used and layered too thinly, we will continue to have these problems every year. It’s an obvious pattern and I wonder why nobody is looking into this. Without any delay, MCC or MSCL should undertake a major exercise to refurbish the City’s dilapidated roads, including VAS LANE, where the work is going at a slow pace, thereby putting residents/people in hardships and danger of lives.
An elderly woman who has been a resident for over five decades speaking to Team Mnagalorean said, ” Never seen Vas Lane in such a mess and so disgraceful. I and my longtime friends living on this Lane used to take morning and evening walks, but not any more since a couple of years ago. We are left confined to our home or apartment compounds, due to all the mess left behind during construction here. It is very dangerous to walk or travel with all the debris, and construction materials scattered, ignoring all safety guidelines. Why are they putting us through hardships and making us bear all this misery during our old age? Hope your report will awaken the concerned authorities to speed up with the work and make Vas Lane people-friendly to use”.
An ambulance driver speaking to Team Mangalorean said, “This is the only approach to Unity Hospital, when I transport patients, during my travel from Balmatta Road. Despite rushing the serious or non-serious patients in the ambulance at a maximum speed, all my efforts to reach Unity Hospital are delayed while navigating through this construction area. I am very cautious when I enter Vas Lane since I don’t want to put the patients’ lives at risk. Once a pregnant woman faced lots of inconveniences while I was trying to reach her hospital travelling on this treacherous Lane. It’s been months or probably years that Vas Lane is in such condition, and nothing has been done, other than making it worse for ambulance drivers like me, trying to reach a patient to the hospital in time”.
A senior citizen residing on Vas Lane said, “At the beginning, I was reluctant to give a few cents of my property for road widening, but later changed my mind, and out of courtesy for the benefit of citizens and neighbours using this lane, I obliged. Unfortunately, now I am facing inconveniences and hardship to enter into my property, since they have dug around my compound wall, and left the work incomplete. The work has been going on at a slow pace and no one is doing it with interest or care. Is this what I get for being nice and giving a portion of my property for nothing to the MCC, and now facing all kinds of hardships? It is not just me, others who have also been given partial land for road widening are also facing hardships due to the slow pace and incomplete work. Seems like our people whom we voted for are least bothered and ignoring us”.
Driving or riding on Vas Lane is like an obstacle course. Drivers keep swerving and manoeuvring to make sure they miss the broken interlocks. Anyone who has had the misfortune of commuting on this Lane will testify what a great pain the ride is owing to the numerous potholes/broken interlocks that punctuate the road. I bet a ride on this stretch is akin to a ride on a ‘camel’s back’- just bumpy!
This treacherous Lane is just not a nuisance for motorists, it also constitutes dangerous safety hazards that can produce substantial damage to vehicles, force drivers to veer suddenly in traffic, or even cause the driver to lose control of a vehicle after contact. The gaping street can also damage a car’s alignment and suspension system. The city crews should take quick action to complete the pathetic stretch of VAS LANE — thereby avoiding severe driving hazards and vehicle damage. And also putting people’s lives in danger.
fill it….shut it..and forget it