Belgaum Panji NH work to being in one month

7:41 AM Posted by ukmad

Goa Chief minister Digambar Kamat said the National Highways Authority of India has already initiated steps to hasten the road widening work of the national highway from Belgaum to Panaji. The work has already been tendered and the work order will be issued by the end of the month.

Poor maintenance of NH4 from Belgaum to Dharwad

10:42 AM Posted by ukmad

Letter from R K Patil, Belgaum.


Any traveler taking NH4 from Kolhapur to Hubli can notice the difference between a quality of execution and maintenance of NH4 highway by two different establishments.

The project executed by Punj Lloyd bears the testimony to world class infrastructure while the part implemented by RN Shetty & Co. shows the sorry state of petty time contractor trying to get into big league.

The part of NH4 operated by Shetty's (Belgaum to Dharwad) has already developed serious problems (pot holes, water clogging, poor maintenance). I am attaching two pictures of the road taken at Mahantesh Nagar & Ashok Nagar junction where the road barricades have been uprooted by the lorry owner shops lying just next to service road. This is done so that the shop owner’s trucks do not end up in taking a long route to reach the shops. This has resulted in land slide at road side, water logging. In few days from now I am sure the roads will also starts giving away. Besides this it poses a great danger to speeding vehicles on NH4 who never expect vehicles to join or exit at this place!nh4-1nh4-2

I have brought this to the notice of the NH4 patrol and maintenance engineers stationed in Hubli (Mr. Ramanujam) and Belgaum (Mr. Jai Prakash). Looks even the NH4 authorities are least bothered about this.

Travelers on Belgaum stretch can see a lot of pot holes and trenches on NH4 stretch that runs between Belgaum and Halga, once again it looks the maintenance authorities are turning blind eye. Only when we start paying lower tolls for this stretch then the authorities might wake up.

rkpatil [at] vayavyalabs.com

Belgaum Goa road to be 4 laned contract to IRB infra

10:53 AM Posted by ukmad

The 81 kms stretch from Karnataka Goa border to Belgaum road NH 4A will be widened by IRB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS LIMITED.

 It is an Rs.800 crores project, out of which Rs.186 crores have been sanctioned right away to get the project into momentum.

 The NHAI is taking up four laning and six laning of various roads in the country and this is also part of the same.

 Once the new road is done it will bring Goa very close to Belgaum and the business with Goa will grow even more. The time for completion could be anywhere from 1 to 3 years, however officially nothing has been communicated. 

Christians demand old road to cemetery be re opened

11:16 AM Posted by ukmad


Bp PETER MACHADO head of The Belgaum Diocese along with Protestant head Alexander Simon submitted a memorandum to the DC.
In the memorandum, they demanded that the earlier road towards the Cemetery next to the Golf course should be opened immediately. The said road has been blocked by the Army and now they have to take a kilometer long route to reach the burial ground.

Belgaum Goa road will not be widened

12:01 PM Posted by ukmad



The Belgaum Goa road which is dire straits within the borders of Karnataka will now not be made into a 4 lane road as was planned earlier. To add to this nor is the Belgaum Chorla Goa road be done as the High court has stayed the work on a PIL.

The NH 4 A Belgaum Khanapur- Rmanagar- Anmod Goa highway was planned to be 4 a lane road but now it will be only 10 meters wide, in some places it is 5 to 7 meters now. A survey was done and as per the suggestions of the survey this road will now be a 10 meter road as per the National highways department.
Majority of the said road was to be in the green forest belt and there were practical problems for widening near Khanapur. Also another reason cited for not widening is another route Belgaum Chorla Goa route which will hamper the BOT (build operate Transfer) scheme. As there is an alternative road people would use that and toll collections would be hit.

The reason cited by the company surveying is economically correct but now the Chorla road work has also come to stand still after a order of the court on a PIL for saving the forest land. The 51 kms stretch from Peeranwadi to Chorla is though reserve forest land and the PIL made the same point as to how can the reserve forest land are used for roads.
Now for the common man it’s a loose loose situation. Nor this road nor that road, Anmod patch is in very bad condition still and with just 3 months for rains if nothing is done immediately you have it reaching Goa would be a great adventure. Even today most of the commuters take the Belgaum Savantawadi Goa route.

Let’s pray to God that the road be made as early as possible.

Input Source: Tarun bharat

Kapileshwar Road & Dharwad Road railway over bridge will happen at last

10:21 AM Posted by ukmad

The state government has agreed to bear a part if the cost of the railway over bridge at Kapileshwar Road & Dharwad Road.

Railway over bridges at these two places is must as the traffic is heavy on the roads and also the roads are not so wide. Once the over bridge is done it will ease of the traffic jams.

Tender process for the Rs.100 crore sanctioned by the state govt. has begun.

Building a over bridge or a under bridge (Planned at Kapileshwar Road) is not a easy task. Support of local residents will have to be taken into consideration before doing anything otherwise the whole plan could go flop as some buildings at both places will have to be brought down for the said bridges.

Station road could be closed

11:00 AM Posted by ukmad


Station road could be closed
The Ministry of railways has sent a letter to the Cantonment Board asking permission for blocking the Station road (Amba Bhuvan to Railway station) citing the renovation of the Belgaum railway station.
The complete face off of the station is planned and for the same the railways need more space and as the said road passes through the railway owned property the cantonment board is also in a fix.
The said road was supposed to be repaired in the next month, all that has been put on hold.
This road is a short cut for many coming and going to bus stand etc from Tilakwadi. If the said road is closed for traffic it will cause a lot of hardships for the common man.
Source: Tarun Bharat

Essar’s The mobile Store to open in Belgaum

4:17 PM Posted by ukmad


Essar group’s retail venture, Essar Telecom Retail expects revenue of $1 billion over the next three years by selling handsets and accessories in a joint venture with Richards Branson’s Virgin group, named The mobile Store.
The Mobile Store in Belgaum will open shortly next to Sharma Sweets on Kirloskar Road. The national retail chain stores have been making their entry in tier II cities and this is just one amongst a host of others.
Infact on the same road , Univercell is there in Shanbag chambers, Reliance Communications has it webworld opposite it and Tata Indicom is next to R web world. Leaving them aside there are local dealers like Sachin Mobile and a few others.
Earlier Kirloskar road was full of shops of footwear and now its footwear and Mobiles.

Still a bumpy welcome to Belgaum

10:50 AM Posted by ukmad


On Sept 15 A bumpy welcome to Belgaum I had made this post.
Nothing much has changed over the past 2 months other than some bolders being put on the road but still it’s a dusty and bumpy ride from road leading to city at NH4 (road which leads to KLE).
The Belgaum authorities do a great job when some high profiler or big politician is coming to town. Dividers are washed, painted but the entrance of the city, Who cares? Most of the MP’s MLAs travel by air so they take the Hotel Shankam route or if they took the railway no question arises.
It’s we the common people who come in from that road and we will have to suffer I don’t know till when. Until then have a bumpy ride.Images are not very clear as they are taken on mobile.

A bumpy welcome to Belgaum

4:44 PM Posted by ukmad

Yes! All those who had just been to Belgaum for Ganpati or otherwise and if you were coming from Kolhapur side, you would have a bumpy Welcome at the entrance of Belgaum.

At the junction, which leads to KLE hospital from the National highway there? They are the BEST & biggest potholes of the city, the size could be 12-15 feet wide and 3 feet deep. The irony is that city corporation has built a tower very next to it, Its an umbrella illuminated which is built for the Kannada Vishwa Sammelan to welcome the delegates to the city with the words "Welcome to Belgaum", and has probably spent a few lakhs on it.

I hope good sense prevails and they had better spend some money on repairing at least the road entering the city.

I do not have a picture of the same, if anyone traveling try and get one.
Thanks Nagendra.