Delay in widening of Dharwad road frustrates residents, increases health hazards

Dharwad: Residents are understandably growing more frustrated with the delay in completion of work on a project to widen the road between Alur Venkatrao Circle and Narendra Cross in Dharwad. The authorities have been dragging their feet on the project, and this thoroughfare, formerly a stretch of the National Highway-4 but now a part of the state highway linking Dharwad and Belagavi, is among the busiest roads in the city and ongoing work has resulted in the creation of additional bottlenecks along the way.
Unsurprisingly, pedestrians have had to bear the brunt of the mess. Throughout the day, clouds of dust hang above the surface of the road making travel on the thoroughfare a hazardous exercise, considering that it exposes commuters to a host of pulmonary disorders. Reports of accidents on the road have only served to make residents more apprehensive about using the road.
The district administration appealed to Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari to approve the widening of the 5.62km-stretch after operations started at the completed central bus stand in Dharwad. The central government subsequently greenlighted the project and work commenced two-and-a-half years ago. The Centre sanctioned Rs 78 crore towards the project, while entrusting the responsibility of executing it to the state government.
Inspecting the condition of the road in September last year, Union minister for parliamentary affairs and Dharwad MP Pralhad Joshi attributed the delay in its completion to the JD(S)-Congress coalition government’s lackadaisical attitude towards the project.
On the other hand, officials charged with the responsibility of executing the project on the ground said that relocation of utilities at key nodes between Alur Venkatrao Circle and KVG Bank was to blame for the delay. The authorities are widening the stretch from one edge to the other since they are keen on avoiding acquisition of land. “Pavements will be built on either side of the thoroughfare, which will be a four-lane road once completed,” said an official.
Although Joshi had asked the authorities concerned to complete the project before the start of 2020, the road is yet to be widened between Kittur Channamma Park and Alur Venkatrao Circle. Meanwhile, doctors are growing increasingly worried about the consequences that the constant exposure to dust is likely to have on the health of regular road users.
Dr Shivkumar Mankar, a district surgeon Dr Kavita Kore, a pulmonologist, said that they received thousands of patients complaining of breathing troubles and skin problems contracted owing to the amount of time spent on the roads.
Besides the road users, inhabitants of houses on roads living on the road, and those running commercial establishments are among those fed up with the delay in the completion of the project. “We have to close our doors and windows throughout the day to prevent inhaling the dusty air,” said Krishnamurthy, who owns a shop on the road.