Comments
March 2
The Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has asked the government to make officials and contractors accountable for any delay in the proposed widening of National Highway no. 75 on Shirady ghat stretch. NH-75 is the vital link between Bengaluru and Mangaluru.
KCCI – which made a presentation to the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, in Mangaluru recently – said that NH-75 is the lifeline of Dakshina Kannada district, providing vital connectivity to the rest of the State. It said that several stretches of the highway are not motorable, and this calls for an immediate response from the authorities for a permanent solution.
KCCI said that NHAI has proposed to close the NH-75 for six months to fix part of this problem. People fear that this will be extended to several months, causing disruption in movement, not only to the common man but also to the vital export-import trade of the region.
Presenting the statistics to the Minister, KCCI said 25,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers with 1.7 lakh tonnes of edible oil, 40,000 tonnes of fertiliser, and 1 lakh tonnes of steel coil are being transported through NH-75.
Stricter accountability sought
KCCI noted that the increased transport cost will result in huge losses to the export-imoprt trade and make their costs uncompetitive in the international market.
Seeking strict accountability from the officials and the contractors for any delay in the proposed widening, KCCI suggested an independent committee be constituted by the district administrations of Dakshina Kannada and Hassan (through which Shirady ghat stretch passes through) to work on the methodology and the time required to complete the work and assess progress on a weekly basis.
Stressing the need for a better four-lane connectivity between Bengaluru and Mangaluru on NH-75, KCCI urged the government to implement tunnel project on the Shirady ghat stretch as a long-term solution.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.