Karnataka Minister unhappy with quality of road-widening work on Bengaluru-Mangaluru highway

But, road-widening work will not necessitate closure of Shiradi Ghat on Bengaluru-Mangaluru highway: Karnataka Minister

Minister for Public Works C.C. Patil has said there is no proposal to close the Shiradi Ghat stretch of NH 75 (Bengaluru-Mangaluru) for vehicles in view of road-widening work from Hassan to Donigal.

Speaking to mediapersons at Donigal in Sakleshpur taluk on July 11, the Minister said that if the situation demands, the movement of vehicles could be restricted to one lane.

The land adjoining the highway on the ghat section slips due to heavy rains. The repeated incidents of landslides at Donigal pose a threat to the safety of motorists. The absence of a protecting wall is said to be the reason for landslips. The Karnataka Government is strengthening the shoulders of the road by placing bags of sand in an attempt to prevent further landslips.

The Minister, along with Sakleshpur MLA H.K. Kumaraswamy, Hassan Deputy Commissioner R. Girish and other officials, inspected the highway widening work from Hassan to Donigal.

The Minister said, “There has been a delay in executing the work. The execution of work has not been done properly at many places. I have instructed the officers and contractor to set it right. The contractor has to do it.”

The work was allotted to a contractor in 2017. As the contractor gave up the work, it had been entrusted to another agency. “The contractor has time till December 2023 to complete the work. However, he has promised to complete the work by April 2024,” the Minister said.