Caution! Quick Change of Road from 4-Lane to 2-Lane on NH 75 near Padil a Death Trap
Mangaluru : Even though it’s good news that in few years the National Highway 75 between the Mangaluru city and Bengaluru City will be four-lane each on both sides of the Highway built under the Bharatmala Scheme at a cost of Rs 1.2 lakh crore-but the bad news is that traveling on the present NH 75 is a nightmare, because of quite a few dangerous spots which are nothing but death-traps or death-zones, which could take away lives of the travelers. Roads being built under Bharatmala scheme are meant for fast movement of vehicles. Therefore these roads cannot have potholes, humps, etc.- but if you look at the present situation of NH 75 is that there are bunch of barricades placed at various places, which are more safety hazards for motorist than placed for the safety of pedestrian crossing.
As vehicles are expected to zoom at around 120 km per hour on these roads, the roads have to be bereft of steep bends, ups and downs. Separate lanes will be earmarked for the movement of buses, ambulances, cars and goods vehicles. Therefore, the current time needed to reach Bengaluru from Mangaluru will come down to four to five hours, it is learnt. The proposed road , which will take five years to complete, will be on the current route of the highway, but will have only two tollgates at the beginning and the end, as per the plan now.
Much more dangerous issue on NH 75 other than barricades, is that all of a sudden change of road from four-lane to two-lane which could cause terrible accidents, including severe injuries and loss of lives. Just recently as reported in The Hindu-Mangaluru edition, that a driver of a Multi Utility Vehicle (MUV) coming from Bhatkal and was heading towards Mangaluru thinking that it was a four-lane Highway. But the driver didn’t know that an oil tanker would come head-on just before the Brahmarakootlu Toll plaza on NH 75 and it would lead to a disastrous accident claiming four lives.
All this confusion was owing to the four-lane road suddenly becoming two-lane at Ramalkatte/Brahmarakootlu as it passes through a two-lane bridge on a rivulet joining Nethravathi . According to locals, at least three people die every year due to accidents at this spot. Motorists coming from Bengaluru/Mysuru and other places towards Mangaluru think it is a four-lane road and suddenly encounter oncoming vehicles. Seems like NHAI, in fact, created several black spots along the 33 km stretch, and many organizations and people regret that NHAI has not built the NH in compliance with the standards of toll roads.
Similar is yet another spot just after the Padil railway bridge, where motorists have to make a sudden change of road from four-lane to two-lane, with no warning signs whatsoever- and one of these days, there could be an accident just like the one that took place near B C road. Why can’t the NHAI put a divider or something to alert the motorists about the change or are they waiting for a disastrous accident, only after that put a warning sign or a barricade/divider? Travel on this stretch of NH 75 near Padil and you’ll know what this report is all about!
