Karnataka - Hassan   

Private firms ready to take up work on Bangalore-Mangalore highway

Staff Correspondent

Minister regrets poor state of ghat roads

HASSAN: Minister for Public Works and Energy H.D. Revanna disclosed here on Wednesday that private companies were prepared to convert the Bangalore-Mangalore National Highway 47 into six lanes.

He said that many firms had approached him in this regard but refused to divulge their names.

He expressed regret over the state of the Shiradi Ghat section of the highway.

It had been extensively damaged because of heavy rain during the monsoon and the constant traffic of overloaded lorries. He said that if the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was not prepared to concrete that section of the highway so that it could withstand extreme weather conditions, the State Government was ready to do so.

The NHAI authorities warned recently that if the stretch was left unattended, the next monsoon would totally ruin it, making it unfit for traffic. Mr. Revanna said the highway connected five States to the New Mangalore Port and in case of any traffic disruption, as warned by the officials, there could be critical problems.

The Minister said the state of National Highway 17 connecting Mangalore and Kundapur was no different, and despite the NHAI approving work on it, this had not commenced. He said that the Government had sent frequent written reminders to the Centre in this regard, but to no avail. He planned to accompany Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to meet Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways T.R. Baalu and apprise him about the urgent need to take up work on this stretch. When asked about the delay in the completion of the gauge conversion of the railway line between Bangalore and Mangalore, Mr. Revanna said that the Railway authorities had told him that the passenger service between Hassan and Mangalore would begin by December.

Land acquisition

The process of land acquisition between Hassan and Bangalore had already begun and would be completed in the next two months.

He said the Government had earmarked Rs. 49 crore for settling compensation claims for the land acquired.

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