Highway destroyed

Rain destroys 43-km stretch on NH 17 in Udupi districtA stretch of 43 km on the National Highway 17 (NH) from Shiroor to Hejmady in Udupi district has been damaged owing to heavy rains and the movement of heavy vehicles. As a result, it has become a nightmare for vehicle users to drive on it.Convener of the Save NH 17 Committee B. Govindaraj Hegde told on Monday that it was not only rains but also the movement of ironore-laden lorries (from Bellary) on NH 17, that had severely damaged the road. These ore-laden lorries are driven recklessly on the NH 17 during nights. We have to solve this problem in an impartial way, he said.Hegde said that the National Highways Department officials had told him that the re-carpeting of the severely damaged stretch between Sasthan and Santhekatte would be taken up in November.But they were silent on many other spots which were in poor shape.Our committee has written to the department, and if there is no response for that, we will launch an agitation, he said.RepairSources in the National Highways sub-division at Kundapur said that the department had started filling up the potholes on the worst affected 12-km stretch between Shiroor and Udyavara of the NH 17.However, another 24-km stretch on the same highway hds been partialIy damaged with small potholes. (TheKundapur sub-division hasjurisdiction over the road that stretches between Shiroor and Udyavara).Besides, a stretch of seven-km on NH 17 under the National Highways Mangalore sub-division, that stretches between Udyavara andHejmady in Udupi district, has also been damaged.This includes a part of the stretch in Padubidri town. While wet mix macadam, a mixture of jelly and stone dust, was being used to fill the potholes on the 12-km stretch, cationic emulsion would be used to fill the small potholes.These are temporary measures to tide over the present situation. A long lasting work will be taken up after September, when themonsoon ends, sources in Kundapur sub-division said.The Kundapur sub-division had apprised the Secretary of National Highways at New Delhi and the Chief Engineer of National Highways Department, Bangalore, of the damage that had been caused to NH 17, the sources said. The people of Padubidri staged a protest on Monday against the temporary patch work being taken up on NH 17. They demanded that the road be re-laid with tar.@Copyright Udayavani 2009Find this article at: http://www.udayavani.com/showstory.asp?news=0&contentid=672044〈=1