Don't travel along Shirady Ghat Road | ಶಿರಾಡಿ ಘಾಟಿ ರಸ್ತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಚರಿಸಬೇಡಿ

08 October 2022,

It is hilarious to call the Shirady Ghat road as National highway which is in news always for its pathetic roads. It can be renamed as notional highway soon. Even though majority part of 40km Ghat road is concreted, the final 15km part from Maranahalli to Sakaleshpura stretch is disaster to drive and travel. There are valleys and ponds to cross in between! Yes you heard it right and that too along the highway! Beware! The wobbling monstrous trucks (including VOLVO buses) might collapse on you anytime! The dust engulfed road from passing mammoth trucks almost blinds your front view. This blinding can also be risky since you never know how the road condition further till transient dust storm clears. If you are travelling by bus, make sure you don't book terminal seats. You will whack your back if you choose those seats out of desperation/negligence! The dreaded 15km travel will prolong the strain even while driving along smooth National Highway past Hassan! Such is the impact of this appalling road.

This truck slumped just before we reached the spot fortunately towards the hill end. Had it been towards drive side, some vehicle would have faced disaster. What kind of road is this? It seems death bed for unfortunate ones.

This stretch is one-way. One lane crumbled due to landslides. Rains are not a rare phenomenon in shirady ghat, but the exponentially growing traffic is something eco-sensitive regions cannot sustain. This traffic jam lasted for nearly 15 mins. The clearance took time due to pathetic roads. When volume of traffic is high, the annoyance may last for hours!

At this point, the road is challenging and punishing experience. The road caved in nearly for 4feet! Oh man, that was edgy! Slight mistake would make your vehicle fall off edge! The water filled pothole makes it even difficult to gauge its depth :-(. 

ಓ ಗಣಪನೇ, ಈ ಶಿರಾಡಿ ಘಾಟಿ ಎಂಬ ಕಂಟಕವನ್ನು ನೀನೇ ಪಾರುಮಾಡಿಸಪ್ಪಾ :-(. ಗಣಪನಿಗೂ  ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಫೋಕಸ್-ನಲ್ಲಿ ಬರಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಇಷ್ಟ ಇಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನಿಸುತ್ತೆ. ಬಹುಷಃ ಗಣಪನಿಗೂ ಇದನ್ನು ಸರಿಪಡಿಸಲಾಗದ ಕಂಟಕ ಅನ್ನಿಸುತ್ತೆ :-(

Do you see the hasty KSRTC red bus in above picture? Yes, reckless driving blocked the incoming traffic in hustle. Despite knowing that its one way, driver was charging in. Later he took a precarious reverse which would have resulted in bus sliding into abyss! Its difficult to comprehend such urgency, risking passenger's life :-(. Meanwhile they drive at impractical speed on this effing awful path. The bus was full too! The last seat passengers will have to highly watch their spine and life! Better to stand-up and travel than taking risk of sitting on last seats!

ಶಿರಾಡಿ ಹತ್ತಿದ ಗಾಡಿ 

ಮಳೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮೆತ್ತಿಕೊಂತು ರಾಡಿ

ಮೇಲೇರಿದ ಬಂಡಿ

ಸಿಕ್ಕಿಕೊಂಡಿತು ಗುಂಡಿ

Never ever travel along this stretch until roads are properly repaired. Till now, there is no sign of roads getting uplifted due to apathy of rulers. Don't know where the taxpayers money routed to :-(.

ಈ ರಸ್ತೆ ಕಂಡಾಗ ಕನಕದಾಸರ "ನೀ ಮಾಯೆಯೊಳಗೋ ನಿನ್ನೊಳು ಮಾಯೆಯೋ ಪದ ನೆನಪಾಯಿತು". ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಮಾರ್ಪಾಡು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾ,

ಗುಂಡಿ ರಸ್ತೆಯ ಒಳಗೋ 

ರಸ್ತೆ ಗುಂಡಿಯ ಒಳಗೋ 

ರಸ್ತೆ, ಗುಂಡಿಗಳೆರಡೂ PWD ಜೇಬಿನ ಒಳಗೋ, ಕೃಷ್ಣಾ!

On positive note, the beauty of Shiradi ghat! This is only thing I loved during painful drive. The only image I edited due to its inherent beauty. The Shirady ghat is vibrant and adorable. Its only the road and rulers who are apathetic! That's the reason I did not edit any pictures since there is no beauty in editing it!