Mangaluru: While the tourist spots and religious centres on the state’s coast draw people from Bengaluru and also from neighbouring Tamil Nadu, the national highways leading to it are so riddled with potholes that the journey to reach it is often a nightmare.
“People who come to Dakshina Kannada and Udupi for tourism or to visit religious shrines have a hard time because of the bad roads here,” said Mr Suresh Shetty, who runs a tourist taxi.
“Many stretches of road between Mangaluru and Moodabidri, and the Shiradi ghat are so filled with potholes that tourists are actually afraid of coming to visit us again,” he added. Even the toll road between BC Road and Surathkal is in a sorry condition, say locals.
“During the monsoon when the road is waterlogged, the pothole are hard to see and can become deathtraps. Some try to evade the craters and lose control of vehicles, which is very dangerous,” said Panambur Beach Tourism Development Project CEO, Yathish Bykampady, blaming contractors for doing a shoddy job of repairing the highways.
However, when contacted, NHAI project director, Samson Vijaykumar said the repair of the highways in these parts would begin once the Operation and Maintenance agency was finalised. “Once we decide on the O and M agency work will begin on repairing the roads in our jurisdiction,” he assured.
