Clock Tower and State Bank of India stretch to be two-way traffic : DC seeks report on reopening

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Mangaluru : Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner H.V. Darshan on Thursday directed the Mangaluru City Police and the city corporation to submit a report within a week on reopening the Maidan Road stretch between the Clock Tower and State Bank of India to two-way traffic.

Chairing the district road safety committee meeting here, Mr. Darshan said there were many complaints about severe inconvenience being caused to the public due to the imposition of a one-way traffic rule on the circular road between Clock Tower and State Bank, since September 2021.

The Mangaluru City Corporation and Mangaluru Smart City Ltd., which executed the civil works, should hold a meeting with the City Police Commissioner to explain their plans for reopening the two-way traffic on the road, the DC said.

The circular one-way was introduced by the then Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar on September 24, 2021, when K.V. Rajendra was the Deputy Commissioner and the road safety committee chairman. Mr. Kumar had declared stretches of Maidan Road — 550 meters from Clock Tower to AB Shetty Circle; 250 meters from AB Shetty Circle to SBI Circle; 250 meters from SBI to Rao & Rao Circle; and 450 meters from Rao & Rao Circle to Clock Tower as one-way.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Siddarth Goyal told the district road safety committee meeting that a portion of the widened Maidan Road between Clock Tower and A B Shetty Circle for circular one-way has become parking lot for buses and other heavy vehicles.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Siddarth Goyal informed the meeting that one of the seven lanes on the Clock Tower – AB Shetty Circle stretch of the one-way road has become a parking lot, with buses and other vehicles remaining parked throughout the day. Moreover, government vehicles, including those of the police and fire services, often struggle to navigate one-way streets in emergencies.

MSCL officials said the Smart City has already handed over the stretch to MCC after completing the work.

Mr. Darshan also directed the MCC to work on the National Institute of Technology-Karnataka report on the scientific redesign of the Hamilton Circle.

MCC Commissioner Ravichandra Naik said the Corporation has already installed permanent barricades at the Hampanakatte Signal Junction. Similar barricades would be installed on the medians at Karavali, Bunts Hostel and Balmatta Junctions within a month.

Baikampady underpass
Mangaluru Project Director of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Abdulla Javed Azmi, said the authority has initiated the tendering process for constructing an underpass near Jokatte Cross in Baikampady on NH 66. With this underpass, vehicles could have unhindered access towards the Industrial Area.

Mr. Darshan said he would hold a meeting with the New Mangalore Port Authority on allowing truck parking on its land, as trucks parked on the highway and road flanks were affecting vehicular movement. He requested that MCC properly maintain the street lighting on the Baikkampady-Surathkal stretch of NH 66.