The Hindu Business Line : Are highways speed-breakers to Mangalore area development?

EFFORTS TO attract investments to the Mangalore region have been facing hurdles as prospective investors are deterred by the poor condition of the road infrastructure.

Mangalore — a Tier II city thatis attracting huge investments — is now facing bottlenecks in the form of poor road infrastructure, especially on NH 17 and NH 48. A placard at a recent protest march by various trade and industry bodies in Mangalore aptly captured the scene. It said: "More craters on roads than on the moon."

Nearly Rs 1 lakh crore of investment is envisaged in various sectors, including petrochemicals, information technology and some manufacturing units. However, the investment plans have taken a hit with some investors expressing concern over the condition of roads.

Capt J. P. Menezes, President of Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), says that many American and Australian diplomats, investors and other captains of the industry, who visited Mangalore in the recent past, have lamented at the condition of the national highways.

Mr Rajesh Sequeira, Coordinator of the UAE-based Karnataka NRI Forum, told Business Line that the Forum, which is trying to attract investments to the region, has been facing hurdles as prospective investors point to the poor condition of the road infrastructure in Mangalore.

No one else could have better explained the condition of the road than Mr Rajavarma Ballal, President of the Karnataka Bus Operators' Federation, who recently told the media that bus-owners had had to send their vehicles for repair every other day due to the poor condition of roads.

Not re-surfaced

Several reasons are being attributed to the poor condition of roads. Important among them are the lack of resurfacing of national highways for the past several years and the movement of lorries overloaded with iron ore.

According to Mr K. Prakash Rao, President of the Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers' Association and a member of People's Action Committee On National Highways (PACONH), NH 17 and 48 were last resurfaced in2001, whereas the roads need to be resurfaced every three years. Till recently, the movement of overloaded iron ore lorries was affecting the condition of highways.

The worst-affected stretches are near Mangalore and at Shirady Ghat section near Sakleshpur in Hassan district on the NH 48. It is to be noted that the Shirady Ghat section is the vital link for LPG transportation from the New Mangalore Port to the rest of Karnataka. Capt Menezes says that the supply of LPG to the State will be hit, if the condition of NH 48 worsens.

According a study by the KCCI, NH-17 bears around 70,000 vehicle movements a day and NH 48 40,000. Nearly two lakh passengers use the road in each segment every day. Around 500 trucks transport 5,000 tonnes of local cargo every day on each highway. A minimum of 50,000 tonnes of export-import cargo is also transported.

The KCCI recently wrote to the Union Surface Transport and Shipping Minister, Mr T. R. Baalu, urging him to release Rs 60 crore for the temporary repair of the roads. It suggested that repairs of NH 17 be completed up to the border of Karwar and NH 48 up to Bangalore by December 31. With the deterioration of the condition of the highways, it is now time for the State Government to look into the maintenance of alternative roads near the highway. In such a situation, it is essential to resurface the alternative routes to avoid any further inconvenience to road users.

Mr Prakash Rao says, "Since NH has become a `notional' highway, the entire traffic is trying to take alternative routes available, which are showing signs of deterioration themselves. There is no effort from any agency to see that they too do not deteriorate."

PORT CONNECTIVITY

NH-17 and NH-48 are the main links between the New Mangalore Port and the hinterland. The port is connected to northern and southern India by NH-17, and to Bangalore through NH-17 and NH-48. The Centre is giving priority for the development of road infrastructure under the port connectivity programme.

Under this programme, the Government plans to four-lane the stretches of highway between the New Mangalore Port and Surathkal and the New Mangalore Port and B. C. Road Town in Dakshina Kannada.

The foundation stone for the project was laid in October 2005, and IRCON International Ltd was awarded the contract. However, the work on the project is yet to gain momentum.

Many major industrial units such as Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers (MCF) Ltd, and Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd, and various small-scale industrial units at Baikampady(off NH-17) depend on the national highways for their day-to-day activities.

A GOOD ROAD MEANS...

A good road network to Mangalore will boost the investment opportunities in the area.

The New Mangalore Port Trust will be benefited much, as the reduction in travel time will help the growth of container traffic moving to and from the port. A good road network will provide better access to cargoes such as iron ore, LPG and POL.

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