MANGALORE: It has been 15 days since the National Highway Division, Mangalore, invited tenders to repair the 11-km stretch of National Highway 48 (Mangalore-Bangalore) passing through the Shiradi Ghats. No contractor has bid for the work yet, reportedly due to the miserable condition of the highway.

The tender will be closed on November 30, sources in the division here said. It has to be seen if any contractor will bid by then.

The authorities propose to take up repairs on the 11-km stretch of the highway at an estimated cost of Rs. 7 crore. The division also proposes to repair another 10-km stretch of the highway after the rainy season, the sources said.

It is not the first time that contractors have been reluctant to repair the highway. Earlier this year, work worth Rs. 1.6 crore was sanctioned for asphalting a 10-km stretch of the road in the ghat section

. The work could not be carried out as no contractor responded even after three tenders were called, the sources said.

The sources attributed the condition of the highway mainly to the movement of overloaded trucks that transport iron ore to New Mangalore Port. Overloaded trucks were damaging the bitumen layer and also the foundation of the road, they said.

Damage

The carriageway had sunk considerably owing to the damage caused to the foundation. The monsoon worsened the situation.

The Government was also not releasing enough funds for the maintenance of the highway, they said.

Inspection

B.R. Srinivasmurthy, a scientist from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, had inspected the ghat section of the highway.

In his report, he said that the only feasible solution to the problem was to concrete the ghat section.

This would cost nearly Rs. 100 crore, the sources said.

The Government had not responded to pleas by different organisations to curb the movement of overloaded trucks on the highway, they said.

Many vehicle users have now stopped using the Shiradi Ghat stretch of the highwayand have started using alternate roads to reach Bangalore.

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