“In my 25 years of service, I saw the ghat stretch of National Highway 75 between Sakleshpur and Gundya in good condition only for about two years,” said Manjunath Achar, a conductor with Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC).
The ghat stretch never returned to normal condition after transportation of mining dust from Ballari region to New Mangalore Port started, Mr. Achar said while keeping a watchful eye on the pothole-ridden NH 75 between Sakleshpur and Maranahalli in Hassan district to alert driver Shivanand of imminent danger during one of their night trips from Bengaluru to Mangaluru.
Looking at the condition of the road, it appears certain that the coastal areas would be cut off from Bengaluru and other regions when heavy rains lash the Western Ghats during the oncoming monsoon, Mr. Achar said.
