NH-48 (New No. NH-75) – through Western Ghats, Karnataka
Shiradi Ghat is a 35kms stretch of ghat section on the NH-48 highway (New number: NH 75) through the Western Ghats connecting Mangalore and Bangalore, the state capital of Karnataka.
This section of the highway has refreshing scenic views to offer during monsoon, while passing through an extremely pathetic “highway”. Went through this stretch just a couple of days ago, on my way towards Mangalore from Bangalore.
The Western Ghats constitute a mountain range along the western side of India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site[1][4] and is one of the eight "hottest hotspots" of biological diversity in the world.
The ghat section of Western ghats through which NH-48 (New number: NH 75) passes is called Shiradi Ghat (Not to be confused with the famous "Shirdi", known for Shirdi Sai Baba, in Maharashtra), after a village called Shiradi in Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada district, just near Gundya at the border of Dakshina Kannada and Hassan districts of Karnataka.
Year after year, crores of rupees are spent for a thin coat of tar that wears of very easily with the force of nature. Also, thanks to the heavy vehicles like tankers that erode the road, further damaging the highway.
As this is the nearest, widest road to Mangalore, or Coastal Karnataka from Bangalore, or the eastern side, a lot of traffic hits this highway.
On my travel to Mangalore, from Bangalore last week, the stretch from Nelamangala to Hassan delighted me with the extremely smooth four lane roads (with tolls, of course), that make you wear your racing cap and cruise easily between 110 to 140 kms/hr. By the time you reach near Sakaleshpur, my instincts began cautioning that something won’t be so nice next.
My guess became a reality as we began moving down the Shiradi ghats which welcomed us with huge potholes and eroded asphalt, frustrating us while the car started to hop up and down.
The potholes, full of muddy water in monsoon make it difficult to predict the depth, resulting in damages to the vehicle. The road condition worsens every monsoon as Shiradi ghat is located in one of India's high rain falling regions.
Adding to the misery, the road can hardly be seen when it rains heavily. Tankers, trucks and buses master the road and do not care while splashing the muddy water right on to your windshields. The trucks do not even keep left and follow their lane; sometimes appear right opposite to you, if their side of the road isn’t as good as yours.
It will easily take you 2 to 3 hours to travel just 35 kms of the ghat section. The government had plans of tunneling through the Ghat that would reduce the distance between Sakleshpur and Gundia (also written as "Gundya") to 18 km from the present 26 km [2][3].
Some visitors (not the drivers, of course), still have fun stopping their vehicles at several places in the ghat section that offer excellent views of the valley. One can also see the railway bridge, a broken man bridge and the gushing Gundya river that does catch your attention.
All in all, Shiradi ghat has lots to offer for nature lovers and much more to bother you otherwise. Do not plan for a road trip on a bike or any two wheelers anytime soon due to the heavy rains and bad road. Make sure your spare tyre is ready if you plan to take a four wheeler.
People travelling in buses, especially the Air-suspension or Multi-axeled Volvos may not actually feel that much of a torment. We didn’t see patch works being done anywhere in the ghat section and don’t see it happening any time soon.
- UN designates Western Ghats as world heritage site - Times of India. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- Decision on Shiradi Ghat tunnel soon - The Hindu. Retrieved July 24, 2013
- Govt plans tunnels to decongest Shiradi Ghat - Deccan Herald. Retrieved July 20, 2013
- Western Ghats on UNESCO World Heritage Sites List
Related Articles on External Sites:
- Shiradi Ghat: It's the same story every year - Times of India
- Travelling on Shiradi Ghat stretch is a nightmare - The Hindu