Uppinangady highway flooding brought traffic on National Highway 75 to a standstill for more than two hours after heavy rain inundated stretches in Bajathur village of Dakshina Kannada on Friday evening, according to a report by Prajavani – Dakshina Kannada. Water flowed onto the highway after roadside drains overflowed, disrupting vehicles travelling between Addahole and B.C. Road.
The affected areas included Kanchana, Neerakatte, Valalu and Bajathur. The highway was waterlogged between Bedrodi and Kanchana Cross, with water flowing across the carriageway and obstructing traffic. The report said rainwater that should have moved through the drainage system entered the road after drains along the highway filled and overflowed.
The disruption occurred on the four-lane National Highway 75 stretch between Addahole and B.C. Road, where construction is reportedly nearing completion. The project has faced public objections since work began over concerns about the manner of construction and the disruptions caused during implementation, the report said.
Residents have also raised concerns about whether the highway includes adequate drainage to allow rainwater to move away from the road. The latest waterlogging has renewed questions about whether the construction accounted sufficiently for local geographic conditions, the direction of natural water flows and the need to safely discharge stormwater.
The incident highlights the operational consequences of drainage failures on a highway that carries traffic through a rain-prone part of coastal Karnataka. When roadside drains overflow, water can spread across the carriageway, slowing or stopping vehicles and potentially affecting access between settlements along the corridor. In this case, the reported interruption lasted for over two hours.
The report described the rainfall as heavy and said the road was waterlogged even during what it characterised as ordinary rain conditions. It did not provide rainfall measurements, details of the drainage design or an official explanation from the highway authority for the flooding.
Residents have urged officials from the highway authority to visit the affected locations and inspect the problem. They have called for areas where water accumulates to be identified and for the drainage system to be improved through a technically sound solution. They have also sought measures to prevent similar disruptions in the future.
The immediate next step sought in the report is an on-site inspection by highway authority officials, followed by identification of the waterlogging points and corrective work on the drainage system before the four-lane project is completed.
