The never ending problem of Pumpwell overpass-Nanthoor circle

Team Udayavani, Sep 13, 2019, 3:16 PM IST

The stretch of NH 55 passing through Mangaluru city between Talapady and Kottara Chowki cannot be called a four lane road and in fact, is a shame in itself. Lack of facility to cross the road, vehicles passing in the opposite direction along one way roads, lack of service roads, no bus stops are one of the many reasons which promote accidents along the route. Amidst this stands erect the Pumpwell Overpass, a mirage.

Mangaluru: NH 66 is another important highway that passes through DK district from Talapady at Kerala border and to Byndoor and 46 km stretch of this four-lane road up till Hejmady toll gate belongs to the district. Dilapidated road, unscientific work and failure to follow traffic rules has increased the accident rate here.

Several dangerous junctions, lack of service road and lack of bus stops. Manageable to an extant between Talapady-Pumpwell, ever where else, there are absolutely no safe zones for the people to cross the road.

One-way violation

Vehicles are proceeding in the opposite direction along one-way roads at 5-6 places between Pumpwell-Talapady. The distance between Yekkur and Pumpwell is about a kilometer, but the people are forced to travel till Jeppinamogaru, take a U-turn there and travel all the way back to reach Pumpwell. Hence, in their search for short-cuts, the people prefer to break traffic rules and proceed in the opposite direction from Yekkur to Gorigudda.

It is the same story at Jeppinamogaru junction and a similar situation persists at Kolya as well. The aim to prevent roundabouts is causing accidents. Excluding a place or two, there is no other location with service road or safe stop. Bus stop is at the junction itself at Jeppinamogaru.

Lorry parked beside the highway

Heavy vehicles stand in a queue beside the highway at Talapady toll gate. They do not have a separate truck bay to stop.

Persistent headache

Pumpwell overpass work has been running and is being a problem since 8 years. All forms of protest and criticism has absolutely had no effect on its construction pace and is still not available for use. Pumpwell circle has changed into a accident zone. Following innumerable deadlines, another deadline was fixed for the completion of the overpass work during the last Lok Sabha election. As per usual, the MP had given another assurance of opening the overpass for traffic by September. Close to 50% of the work is still pending and the slim expectation that the work will be completed within two months is but a suspicion. No work has taken place here since two months. After having being developed into an accident zone, recently a youth lost his life after his bike skid here.

Support from tar drums!

There is no facility for pedestrian crossing between Pumpwell-Talapady. There are 5-6 circles between Gorigudda-Talapady and he rules have not been followed. Just while coming down along Thokkottu overpass, it is joined abruptly by the service road and there is a possibility that vehicles may lose control and crash into each other. Unscientific barricade at prominent junctions. They are supported by tar drums!

Unscientific Nanthoor circle

Nanthoor and KPT junctions are one of the largest junctions in Mangaluru city and have been created most unscientifically. There is a perpetual block here during peak hours. Vehicles from all four directions and mile long vehicle queues are a common phenomenon here.  These junctions have claimed several innocent lives. Since KPT circle is not as per the rules, serial accidents are taking place. On the other hand, the road has gone to the worst at both the junctions and traffic jam, is the daily special dish here. The trouble faced by motorists during peak hours is unparalleled.