Mangalore, October 30: Major repair works on Shiradi Ghat stretch of the national highway was expected to begin by December 1st this year. But it has aroused a lot of doubts among the citizens regarding the alternative path or wheather the commencement of the work gets delayed.
Work on conducting extensive repairs to proposed to begin on may be hit with delays. It had been announced months in advance that the ghat road will remain closed for six months beginning December 1, but the fact that alternative roads are yet to be announced by the district administration has given rise to doubts that there may be delay in starting work.
The Shiradi Ghat road was striking the media due to frequent damages and gas tanker accidents. A serious meeting regarding this matter will be held at Hassan next month. In the past, it was planned to build a 20kms road comprising of tunnels and bridges to enable smooth flow of vehicles and reduce the traverse distance. Because of huge funds estimated for the project, it was not implemented.
It said that Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) has come forward to invest about Rs 20,000 crore in this project (Rs 100 Cr for each km). The company plans to complete the project in about five years and recover the cost thereafter through toll charges.
Expert’s team from Japan with trio namely Nashreen G. SINARINBO, Ryuichi OIKAWA, and ONO Masazumi had a detailed discussion regarding the development of new four lane road in Shiradi Ghat to connect Bangalore through tunnels with MLA J.R. Lobo, Mayor Mahabala Marla and chambers of commerce members and other dignitaries.
The official confirmation about this is yet to be known.
