More than 150 families in Kudruppadi village of Dakshina Kannada’s Kadaba taluk are facing severe difficulties because a roughly 4-kilometre stretch of road remains filled with potholes, while a proposal for road improvement and a bridge has remained pending with the Karnataka government.
The affected route runs from Hosamatha Junction on the Uppinangady-Kadaba state highway through Ulipu, Valya and Koodlige. The full stretch is about 5 kilometres long. Although scattered concrete work has been carried out over about 1 kilometre in the middle of Valya, the remaining road towards Koodlige is reported to be severely damaged.
Residents told Prajavani that the road turns into a muddy track during the monsoon, making vehicle movement difficult or impossible. Students and elderly residents have to walk about 5 kilometres to Hosamatha to board a bus. Residents said private vehicle operators are unwilling to travel to the area because of the road condition.
The lack of road access has also affected medical emergencies. Villagers said ambulances are reluctant to come to the area at night when pregnant women or patients need to be taken to hospital. Families requiring a rental vehicle may have to pay twice the usual fare, they said.
The settlements along the road include the Scheduled Caste colonies at Nadoली and Baithana. Around 90% of the families in the area are described as economically backward. Most residents depend on daily-wage work, agriculture and dairy activities. They have to travel to Hosamatha for transactions related to the farmers’ cooperative society and the milk producers’ cooperative.
Residents also reported disruptions to cooking-gas delivery, postal services, courier deliveries and parcel distribution. The road condition has therefore affected not only daily commuting but also the movement of essential goods and access to local economic institutions.
According to the report, residents submitted a request about a year ago for road development and construction of a bridge across the Kumaradhara river near Koodlige. The Panchayat Raj Department’s engineering wing subsequently inspected the location and prepared an estimated project cost of ₹25.70 crore for the road and bridge. A proposal seeking special funding was sent to the government, but residents said no corresponding work had begun.
The road issue has been raised since 2011, social activist L. C. Thomas of Ulipu said. In 2013, officials from the Panchayat Raj Department visited the area and prepared a ₹9 crore estimate for road and bridge construction, but the work was not taken forward, according to the report.
Bharath, assistant executive engineer of the Zilla Panchayat Engineering Division’s Puttur sub-division, said the combined estimate for the road and bridge had been submitted but funding had not been released. He said the road component had now been separated and a fresh estimate of ₹1.28 crore had been submitted to the government. Work would be undertaken if funds were sanctioned, he said.
