The Hindu : Karnataka / Mangalore News : Bottlenecks on national highways

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 28, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Mangalore

Bottlenecks on national highways

By Raviprasad Kamila

MANGALORE, JULY 27. Traffic piling up at check-posts on national highways in Mangalore Division is assuming dangerous proportions in the absence of parking bays for goods vehicles.

The government departments concerned have to obtain permission from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways before setting up check-posts on national highways. But some departments have set up check-posts on national highways without obtaining permission from the Ministry, according to sources in the National Highways.

Unauthorised

The Mangalore Division of National Highways has identified 15 such check-posts. An official of the division has written to the departments concerned to remove the check-posts or obtain permission from the Union Ministry if setting up the check-posts is inevitable. The official has written that the departments concerned should deposit funds with the division for the construction of service roads or parking bays at the check-posts to avoid traffic jams and accidents and facilitate the smooth flow of traffic.

Of the 15 unauthorised check-posts, 10 have been set up by the Department of Forests, three by the Department of Commercial Taxes, one by the Department of Food and the Regional Transport Officer and one jointly by the Department of Forests and the Department of Commercial Taxes.

Five check-posts each are on National Highways 17 and 13, four on National Highway 48 and one on National Highway 206.

All these check-posts do not have parking bays for vehicles. A check-post at Mukka, near here on National Highway 17, has a small service road built by the National Highways after the Department of Commercial Taxes, which set up the check-post, deposited Rs. 2 lakhs for the purpose.

Threat to pedestrians

The traffic jam at this check-post is a threat to pedestrians and vehicles, says a resident of Mukka. As a school is situated nearby, students find it difficult to cross the road.

Those driving on National Highway 48 face hardship at Kannur check-post in the absence of a parking bay or a service road for goods vehicles. Traffic congestion is the order of the day.

Traffic hold-ups often lead to arguments between drivers. Attempts to overtake complicate matters.

Centre's fiat ignored

The then Secretary to the Union Ministry for Road Transport and Highways, Ashok Joshi, in a letter on August 21, 2003 to State governments, directed them to remove some structures on or by the side of highways. These included speed-breakers, advertisement hoardings, and check-posts.

The then Chief Secretary to the State Government, B.S. Patil, asked the authorities concerned to implement the Centre's directive. Besides this, the then Union Minister of State for Road Transport Highways, B.C. Khanduri, had written to the Government to remove all barriers on highways.

The Executive Engineer of Mangalore Division of National Highways, Balakrishna, told The Hindu that as per the rules no barriers should be allowed on national highways.

The Centre had issued a circular to this effect to State governments on November 18, 1986. Although the division wrote to the authorities concerned on several occasions, action had not been taken, he said.

If the departments concerned deposited funds with the division, parking bays or service roads could be built at check-posts to facilitate smooth flow of traffic, he said.

Meanwhile, observers said that although all check-posts on national highways could not be removed, the construction of parking bays or service roads could mitigate traffic congestion at such places.

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