Mangaluru : Minister in-charge of Dakshina Kannada B. Ramanath Rai on Monday instructed officials of the Mangaluru Division of the National Highways under the Public Works Department not to close down the Shiradi Ghat stretch on Mangaluru-Bengaluru National Highway while taking up second stage upgrading works after this September.

Speaking at a Karnataka Development Programme review meeting, the Minister said that if the ghat section was closed down, it would inconvenience many people. Instead the officials should take up works on one side leaving the other side for traffic.

An official of the NH Division told the meeting that it would be difficult to take up the works without closing down the stretch. The official said that allowing one-way traffic would damage the concrete works on the other side because vibration due to traffic movement would weaken the settling down of concrete. Only 8 metres to 13 metres width (which is right of way on which vehicles actually move) was available in the ghat. The slip paver finisher machine required for concrete works was 7 metres wide.

The contractor would have to move transit mixer and dowel bar carrier in the stretch for works. In addition, other lorries would have to move. Hence the stretch would have to be closed down. But Mr. Rai insisted that the stretch should not be closed down.

According to the official of 47 km ghat stretch between Gulagalale (Sakleshpur side in Hassan) and Addahole (Nelyadi side in Dakshina Kannada, the 13 km stretch which is the middle portion of the ghat between Heggadde and Kempu Hole have been concreted in the first stage.