‘Are All Mangaluru Roads Like This One’?-A Delegate from Ghana referring to Potholed Nellikai/Bunder Road
Mangaluru : On Saturday, 26 October 2019, a delegation from Ghana led by Ms Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo – Minister for Public Procurement/Deputy Majority Leader/Member of Parliament of Ghana, along with Dominic Oduro-Antwi- President of Ghana-India Trade Advisory Chamber; Daniel Appiah-Otoo, Senior Officer-Finance and Administration; Ms Daphne Lariba Nabila- Barrister & Solicitor; Dr Senorita Issac-Founder Chairperson of Human Achievers Foundation; and Hanny Yaw Mouhtiseb- Chief Executive Officer of Couttz Group, were in Mangaluru for a interaction Session hosted by Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mangaluru (Ref:The Kudla-Ghana Connection! KCCI hosts Interaction Session with Ghana Delegation )
Shame on all the officials who are the helm of Smart City Development by naming the City as “Smart City”, but showing total negligence towards the bunch of roads in Mangaluru, which are totally dilapidated and filled with potholes, or call them “CRATERS”?. I bet these delegates from Ghana, for sure might have taken a bunch of pictures of the potholed Nellikai/Bunder Road, added to their other selfies taken in front of St Aloysius Chapel, Gokarnatheshwara Temple, Sri Manjunath Temple, Pillikula Park etc. How can MCC or Mangaluru Smart City Ltd or District Administration show a blind eye towards these horrific city roads, when the City invites tourists from other countries, who come by air, road and by cruise ships. And these tourists when they go back, they take some memorable selfies or pictures of pile of garbage, pothole filled roads, stray dogs, beggars etc.
Is this how a SMART CITY- MANGALURU should look like?- which is boasting about being a Educational Hub, with smart and intelligent people produced from this Coastal and Education Hub, but still can’t keep up with the standard of the City roads. Too sad, to see Mangaluru filled with numerous bad and potholed roads, and still neither the NHAI, nor MCC nor any other concerned department has shown any interest, in spite of quite a few silent protests, solo protests, and awareness programmes. Seems like the concerned persons give a damn, by not worrying how the roads look like or care even for the safety of the motorists and pedestrians.
Yours Truly of Team Mangalorean, taking a ride on this pathetic and potholed Nellikai/Bunder Road had a horrific experience wading through these two treacherous roads, and at one point was about to fall of my two-wheeler trying to avoid a pothole, which looked like “A Crater in Chandralokha”?. Just imagine how the citizens running businesses or employed at businesses in the Bunder area, have to go through all this mess daily. Why is MCC or any other concerned department showing a blind eye towards this issue. This is not the FIRST time, that these two streets get worn out/potholed every monsoon, and all they do is put some loose jelly mixed with cement patch-work- and come next monsoon, we have the same issue. Bah humbug!
At present moving on City Streets, one may have to keep guessing whether he or she is in Mangaluru or on the moon, considering the number of potholes, which look like craters in many spots. And every time when such potholes appear, the PWD or MCC crew does a shabby work by doing some patch work with loose concrete but sadly this hasn’t helped as the rains continue to pour and the situation is worsened with gravel scattered all over the areas. And like one Mangalorean said, “Well, this is not the situation due to monsoon. It is a result of wholesale corruption in the PWD, MCC and district administration and its functioning”.
The traffic police blame the potholes for the traffic congestion. The civic authorities blame the monsoon for the potholes- and it’s all in the blame game every year. It happens again and again and again- year and year and year after- and at the same locations of same streets/roads. I am talking about dilapidated roads filled with potholes. Heavy rains, heavy traffic and alternating periods of warm and cold have scarred local streets and the potholes pop up — and this has formed a worse-case scenario for repair crews who are struggling to find and fix all the emerging potholes. But are they doing the job right. I don’t think so. Throwing some loose stuff in a hole and just hoping the traffic driving over it will fix it, will not serve the purpose.
The evidence now says otherwise. I think the only way to solve the current pothole mess is to lay a two-layered concrete road with a seal coat but the problem is, our authorities I bet are busy playing blame games. And in case, the officials from MCC or MSCL or PWD have not seen the present condition of the Nellikai/Bunder Road, they can just browse through a bunch of pictures incorporated in this report, and get into action, before motorists and pedestrians lose their limbs or other parts of their body while using these two streets. Apart from other potholed roads in the City, but anyone who has had the misfortune of commuting on the Nellikai/Bunder streets will testify what a great pain the ride is – literally – owing to the numerous potholes that punctuate the road.
I bet a ride on this stretch is akin to a ride on a ‘ camel’s ‘ back- just bumpy! Potholes aren’t just a nuisance for drivers; they also constitute 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 streets can also damage a car’s alignment and suspension system. The city crew should take quick action to fix the potholes before they get deep and worse — thereby avoiding severe driving hazards and vehicle damages.
So, while waiting for these roads to be restored for a smooth ride, just brace yourself because it’s once again pothole season in Mangaluru. And for sure, the MCC nor PWD authorities will not take any action, until a major accident takes place, due to potholes? Until then, to all those commuters who have to take Nellikai/Bunder Road as part of your daily routine path, bear with the potholes or curse someone at the MCC/PWD/NHAI/MSCL— and still keep driving safe, and walk safe!