BANGALORE: There has been a favourable response to the directive issued to the department concerned by the State Human Rights Commission which earlier had registered a voluntary complaint in the backdrop of the report published in Karavali Ale on the sorry state of Shiradi Ghat road.
Taking serious cognizance of the report that appeared in the Karavali Ale dated July 13, 2009, under the title “ Shiradi Ghat road reverts to old state-crores of rupees goes wasteâ€, the Commission had directed the chief secretary of the State government, PWD and the Department of Ports and Inland Transport to submit a report.
The report submitted by the government to the Commission has admitted that the movement of overloaded ore lorries on the Shiradi Ghat road linking Mangalore to Bangalore, was the main reason for the sorry state of the road. Following this, the government had directed the district administrations of Hassan, DK and Udupi to initiate necessary action and the district administrations in turn had restricted movement of ore lorries on the Ghat road.
The government in its report has said that the Shiradi Ghat was much affected during the year 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 and that the Union Ministry for Surface Transport had given its approval for three estimates for the repair of the road in the year 2006-2007.
The PWD has informed the commission that efforts were made to ensure smooth movement of traffic on the ghat road by filling the potholes and that the Union Ministry for Surface Transport, has already given its technical approval for a proposal to concretize this stretch of the road.
The government has also informed that the Principal Secretary of the PWD and the Chief Engineer of NH Authority would inspect the quality of the road and that action would be initiated against the contractor concerned, in case they decide that the quality was sub-standard.
Some parts of the road have already been repaired by the contractors at their own cost, while some of the contract agreements have been cancelled, the report said.
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