The art of travelling between Bangalore - Mangalore/Udupi

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

To my bad luck there was a huge traffic jam running few KMs (Which is what i was very skeptical) and it was due to partial flooding of the road due to rains

While returning i took the Agumbe-sringeri-jayapura-balehonnur-aldur-chikmaglur-belur-hasan-bangy route and the road is great(just few km of bad stretch but can be done fast) and very very scenic

For those travelling to Udupi side i recommend this anyday

Flooding???? in Shiradi??? All these years, I have never heard traffic being blocked due to flooding of the roads in Shiradi. Of course there are traffic jams, but none that I know are caused from flooding.

I was expecting the flooding to happen, but only after Mr whatsisname's govt bypasses all environmental clearances and builds a hydel project right in the middle of a pristine rainforest.

Can you specify where exactly the flooding happened?

Yup, I agree on the return route. I would any day recommend the route via Agumbe & chikmaglur for people coming from Udupi side.

[lohithrao]

addy, is that hydel project still on or stuck? i hate people playing with the nature grrrrrrrr

[rajshenoy]

Addy:
Well I was suppose to take a diversion towards dharmastala and this happened abt 10-15km before near Gundya in two places. One of the places had about a feet of water in other place the water had receded towards one corner so one lane of traffic could pass with the help of Cops who luckily reached by that time

My father was saying this is something new and doesn't happen usually(Uppinangadi is a different story) but i wasn't going till there

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by lohithrao

addy, is that hydel project still on or stuck? i hate people playing with the nature grrrrrrrr

From what I have read, the central government has advised the state to get environmental clearances before it goes ahead with the project (instead of shelving the project).

But, it may just be a matter of time before it will be cleared. It will not take much of their effort to get 'Zero Environment damage' certificate for the project and it will start soon enough.

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Addy:
Well I was suppose to take a diversion towards dharmastala and this happened abt 10-15km before near Gundya in two places. One of the places had about a feet of water in other place the water had receded towards one corner so one lane of traffic could pass with the help of Cops who luckily reached by that time

My father was saying this is something new and doesn't happen usually(Uppinangadi is a different story) but i wasn't going till there

So, this must be after you get down from the ghats near Shiradi village, right??
I had never even dreamed that there were places on the NH48 where it would come under water.

[JMaruru]

I have plans for travelling around wee hours of friday to m'lore.. and would be on swift VDi. As always, the shiradi is the question mark. I am ok with spending couple of hours in shiradi, if i can scrape through safe. So please advise.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

I have plans for travelling around wee hours of friday to m'lore.. and would be on swift VDi. As always, the shiradi is the question mark. I am ok with spending couple of hours in shiradi, if i can scrape through safe. So please advise.

I drove Swift as well..you can definitely manage without much problems except the traffic(try your luck)

But I heard that road has gone really bad in Uppinangadi-BCRoad-Mangalore stretch plus the traffic(Locals can confirm) Since i took the diversion i am not aware of this road condition

Shiradi is the shortest route and in except where the curves end and one or two bridges, its in good shape

Also alot of loose gravel on some curves, so you better be slow as sudden breaking might cause the car to skid

[sushrutha]

Back from Mudigere/Shimoga.Buses/vehicles have been plying on Charmadi Ghats, though I didn't travel on Charmadi Ghats. Also Shimoga - Theerthally route was submerged till last week (Due to heavy rain in Gajanur/Mandagadde area), but now it's all right to travel in this route ( Had been to Gajanur+ Mandagadde), but be careful about the rough ride & small potholes.

[addyhemmige]

My parents had been to Mangalore yesterday. They went via Shiradi ghat and returned via Charmadi.

I have nothing to say about Shiradi since there are no developments there, but Charmadi it seems, is holding up very well. They say that they had a hassle free ride all the while. They did encounter a lot of buses on the way. The road has been widened at a few places.

[prabhusati]

The online version of Udayavani mentions Charmadi Ghat road is closed for the next 3 months.

Udayavani - First look on Karnataka

If this is true, then the option for people to travel between Bangalore and Mangalore is the Shiradi Ghat and Sampaje Ghat roads.

One more website mentions about ban on excessively loaded vehicles on Shiradi Ghat.

D A I J I W O R L D+

Not sure how they will implement this!!

KSRTC has also announced that Rajahamsa buses also will follow the Airavath Volvo services via Madikeri (Sampaje Ghat). With this, the traffic on Sampaje Ghat will increase enormously. How will the road cope with this increased traffic is anybody's guess.

[lohithrao]

I think the government should officially announce that people should not consider to travel by road to the coat, instead they can choose rail or Rail..Since the government incapable of building a road which can hold for few months...

Guess all the people who intend to make regular visits and who leave in coast should buy only Bolero/Gurkha and its kinds since the road condition does not seem to improve in this life time

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by lohithrao

I think the government should officially announce that people should not consider to travel by road to the coat, instead they can choose rail or Rail..Since the government incapable of building a road which can hold for few months...

Guess all the people who intend to make regular visits and who leave in coast should buy only Bolero/Gurkha and its kinds since the road condition does not seem to improve in this life time

Good one.

But the railways are also not spared by the rains. Just few weeks back the Bangalore-Mangalore Train was cancelled for few days because of landslides

Also such a long route that goes via all the possible cities to finally reach Mangalore(I guess we need a Rail Mantri from Karnataka first)

[prabhusati]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Also such a long route that goes via all the possible cities to finally reach Mangalore(I guess we need a Rail Mantri from Karnataka first)

We do have one now. The Minister of State for Railways is from Karnataka, Mr.Muniyappa. But how committed is he to further Karnataka's interests is anybody's guess.

We all know his achievements (for Karnataka) as Minister of State for Highways for the last 5 years!!.

[B.R.S.Rao]

The so called "National Highway No: 48",( shame to call this road as National Highway) i.e., stretch between Sakleshpura till Uppinangadi is in horrible condition. I request fellow tbhpns who are planning to drive in this road, to be very carefull and cautious. This stretch is filled with dangerous potholes filled with muddy water.Some potholes are so big that even Maruti 800 will vanish in that! Moreover even though govt. has banned the iron ore trucks in this stretch, I have seen hundred of them plying everyday! I suggest, please avoid this route.

[mjothi]

Oh no. After all those 100s of crore investment to lay tar through these ghats, it again back to same. I heard again they sanctions around 130 or 150crore to get this all done :(

[kannan666]

Heard that most of the buses especially the Volvos are plying to Mangalore via Madikeri and because of the extra 40kms or so that they need to cover, they are losing revenue, sorry state of affairs indeed.