The Hindu Business Line : Mangalore spruces up main roads

If you happen to be in Mangalore these days, you will see most of the arterial roads in the city either closed for the movement of vehicles or allowed for partial vehicular movement. The reason is the road improvement activity taking place in various parts of the city.

The infrastructure development is happening at a time when many commercial and residential projects are coming up in the city. As a first step, concreting of major arterial roads in the city has been taken up by the Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) at an estimated cost of over Rs 80 crore.

Most of the current road improvement and widening works are concentrated near the commercial spaces in the city. In some areas where the concreting work has been taken up both commercial and residential apartments exist together.

The corridor leading to the airport, which covers residential and commercial spaces at some places, has also been given importance in concreting works.

Priority for business district

Mr Sameer Shukla, Commissioner of MCC, told Business Line that MCC is going in for concreting of major arterial roads in the city with four lanes. “Our intention is to make major arterial roads in the city as four lane ones. And we are going in for concreting because the climatic condition here is such that concrete roads can take the load of heavy rains. Added to this, the maintenance hassle is less with concrete roads,” he said.

The central business district — Hampankatta area — and the roads leading to that have been given priority in concreting and widening of roads.

Mr Giridhar Prabhu, who owns a cashew retail store in one of the recently concreted roads at Hampankatta, says that though business was affected during the concreting period, it has improved now.

Infrastructure improvement in the medium term will boost business, he says, and both shoppers and shopkeepers are the beneficiaries of the road improvement and widening work. Neat and wide roads create a feel-good factor and help in improving business.

Focus on outskirts

Stressing the need to make Mangalore a pot-hole free city, Mr Prabhu says not only arterial roads but also the 700-km network of roads in the city should be asphalted to take the load of vehicular movement.

There is also need to improve roads in Bunder area — one of the oldest areas in the city where a major portion of wholesale business takes place. Most roads in Bunder area are narrow. In this regard, the Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner has begun consultations with traders in that region.

Mr G.G. Mohandas Prabhu, President of Old Bunder Wholesale Kirana and Allied Merchants Association, says wide roads will provide better connectivity and faster movement, needed for the development of business.

The District Deputy Commissioner has appealed to traders in Bunder area to cooperate with the administration in widening the roads. Accordingly, a couple of meetings have been held in this regard, he says. Real-estate value will go up, if the roads are widened, he feels. This will ultimately lead to improvement in business activities.

Mr P.M.A. Razaak, President of the Kanara Builders’ Association, stresses that all roads in Mangalore city should be concreted. Roads should be widened to at least 80 ft, as the present road width is not sufficient.

The authorities should also focus on developing infrastructure outside the city limits so that people can move to nearby outskirts for apartments and office spaces.

The general impression amongst the public is that concrete roads will boost growth of the city. However, they also want footpaths to be retained in the new roads too. Also, many roads in around 60 wards of the city corporation need to be asphalted, leave alone concreting them.

Mr Arun, a marketing executive of a private company, feels concreting of roads will not be of any use unless the roads are made four-lane ones. The authorities concerned should focus on widening roads in the city while concreting them, he adds.

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