Not Roads, but only Potholes & Craters-Walking in Mluru City is like Walking on the Moon?

Not Roads, but only Potholes & Craters-Walking in Mluru City is like Walking on the Moon?

Mangaluru: Moving on City Streets, especially during monsoon season, 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 patchwork with lose 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”.

And in the meantime when we such pothole-ridden roads, our beloved MLA Vedavyas Kamath instead of taking action in seeing that these pathetic condition roads are fixed, he is busy planning on installing CCTV’s cameras on Nethravathi Bridge-like its going to help a damn thing-a person who wants to commit suicide will go ahead with his plans, whether there are CCTV’s that he could give a smile before he jumps or if there are no CCTV’s. Not a smart idea to go ahead with this project, when there are other important and urgent civic issues to be taken care of.

And yes, after weeks of heavy rain, potholes have resurfaced on roads in parts of Mangaluru city, but one spot with “merciless” potholes that creates inconveniences and hardship to motorists and pedestrians year after year, is near the Nanthoor Junction, on the way from Kadri to Bikkarankatte. The relentless rain that lashed the city has washed away the asphalt into the nearby drains, opening up old potholes, and creating new ones. Potholes have turned into craters at many places in the city. During the monsoon, commuters have to deal with large potholes on several spots at Kulshekara near Cordel Church, Pumpwell to Bendoorwell, near Jeppu Market, Bolar, Hoige Bazar, Hampankatta Junction, Jail Road, edges of the road at Navabharath Circle, Karangalpady and Bridge Road (connecting Jyothi and Balmatta), and so on.

The interlocks laid on several locations in the city including at Lalbagh have slipped aside, developing new potholes. The road towards Rosario Church road after the railway crossing also has a lot of potholes. To avoid these potholes, many drivers tend to move on the right side of the road and come face-to-face with vehicles moving in the opposite direction. Pedestrians are also the worst affected as they have to use umbrellas to protect themselves from water getting splashed onto them by speeding vehicles. Owing to the damaged roads with potholes, the traffic sets on snail speed during peak hours. With the high density of vehicles in the rains, it takes nearly 30 minutes to travel short distances of nearly one kilometer. The two-wheeler riders find it difficult to judge the depth of the water-covered potholes.

The traffic police blame the potholes for 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 worst-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. By the way, motorists taking the way near Nanthoor junction towards Bikkaranakatte/Kulshekar are facing the brunt every single day, commuting through this route ridden with potholes and stranded water. Instead of fixing the roads first, our MCC officials are busy resurfacing inner-lanes with brand new interlock bricks. But when it comes to fixing the bad roads they are slow and careless. As long as cheap quality tar is being used and layered too thinly, we will continue to have these problems every year.

Driving on Mangaluru streets, and for that matter, even on outskirts of the City, is like an obstacle course. Drivers keep swerving and maneuvering to make sure they miss every pothole. These potholes have also worsened the chronic traffic jams which Mangalureans face every day, apart from driving through Alake Road, other potholed surfaces are some streets in Bunder area, Bibi Alabi Rd, Nanthoor junction Rd, Padil near Railway station etc etc. Anyone who has had the misfortune of commuting on these 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.

And on the lighter side of vein, regarding the potholes in Bengaluru- In a video, now viral on social media, actor Poornachandra Mysore is seen dressed up in a spacesuit, walking through the crater-like potholes in Herohalli area in the Garden City.. Artist Baadal Nanjundaswamy, who has been credited for coming up with the concept of recreating the lunar surface in Karnataka’s capital, shared a video of the ‘moonwalk’ on Twitter and Facebook on Monday to raise awareness about the situation of the roads in the metropolitan. Such act of awareness by Baadal regarding the crater size potholes aptly suits in Mangaluru too. In an attempt to get Mangaluru City Corporation or PWD attention on the crater-sized potholes on the city roads, some Mangalorean artist should also come up with a unique idea like Baadal to create awareness about the increasing potholes.

Baadal Nanjundaswamy in the past is known for his street art and installations is famed for taking a dig at BBMP by highlighting civic issues using satire and art, and this time he has recreated the scene of the ‘man’s first step on the moon’ and uploaded the same on his social media account. The video begins with a close-up of an astronaut cautiously walking on a surface that matches the craters of the moon. However, when the cameraman zooms out, people understand it is not ISRO’s successful space mission but the unfortunate condition of Tunganagar Main Road in Bengaluru. The video has collected over 12,000 shares and more than 8000 reactions on Facebook. On Twitter, it has gained more than 18,000 views and around 1000 re-tweets.

This is not the first time Nanjundaswamy has used his creativity to convey his message. He had earlier placed a life-sized crocodile in the middle of a street in Bengaluru as well as a woman dressed as a mermaid. Nanjundaswamy’s artwork is widely shared on social media, after which BBMP hurriedly gets the grievance resolved. India may have spent over Rs 800 crore on Chandrayaan-2 which is set to create history by landing on the moon on 7 September, but before ISRO’s Pragyan Rover makes the touchdown, but in Bengaluru, a man ‘walked on the surface of the moon’ without travelling beyond Bengaluru. Nanjundaswamy has earlier, too, raised the issue of potholes in the city. In 2015, he had planted a life-sized crocodile in a huge pothole in Bengaluru, while in 2017 he converted a pothole into a pool and made another artist dress-up as a mermaid.

On the other hand, Mangaluru too is not less in having numerous potholes, and just like Nanjundaswamy, Kudla artists should also come up with unique art ideas which could make a mockery of the officials who have been careless and lazy in rectifying the civic issues, especially the potholed city streets. 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 bear with the potholes or curse someone at the MCC/PWD/NHAI— and still keep driving safe, and walk safe! And a humble request to MLA Kamath is- “Kindly keep CCTV’s project on Nethravathi Bridge pending, instead see that the city roads are fixed-Thank You?”.