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Drivers travelling on the new four-lane National Highway 66 from Mangaluru towards Udupi during night have to suddenly apply the brakes as barricades appear in front of them without any warning at the Mukka Junction.

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  Barricades without reflectors prove a challenge to drivers on the highway during night in Dakshina Kannada, while the ones below in Udupi district giving enough time to apply brakes and avoid hitting them. PHOTOS: H.S. Manjunath and Anil Kumar Sastry

  

These barricades kept almost haphazardly have in fact become traffic hazards on the highway as they do not have any reflectors and drivers notice them only when they are close enough to hitting these temporary structures. As a consequence, it is common for many vehicles to hit the barricades, as drivers do not enough time to bring their vehicles to a halt.

Leave alone heavy vehicle drivers, even cyclists have become victims of such barricades. Recently, Panambur Abdul Khader from Mangaluru, who pedals a single-speed bicycle, hit one such barricade at Mukka early in the morning while riding back from Udupi. Fortunately, he did not suffer any severe injury.

Such barricades are placed at Haleyangadi and Mulki, ahead of Mukka. Undoubtedly, the junctions where the barricades have been placed witness heavy pedestrian crossing.

However, just across the district border, Udupi police too have placed barricades at many places, including Kaup, Katapadi, Udyavara, Brahmavara, Sasthana, Saligrama, Kota, Kumbhasi and Kundapur but all these barricades have reflectors and get illuminated from the headlights of vehicles during nights, giving enough time for drivers to apply brakes and avoid hitting the barricades.

Responding to the shortcoming, Mangaluru Police Commissioner M. Chandra Sekhar, under whom NH 66 stretch up to Mulki falls, said that reflectors should have been affixed to the barricades and there is no excuse for having not done it. He issued immediate directions to the concerned to rectify the shortcoming. Mr. Chandra Sekhar said that the police are in a piquant situation where they are compelled to reduce the speed of vehicles at busy junctions, towns or villages, particularly after the highway was made four-lane. They cannot ask the National Highway Authority of India to erect speed breakers as it is prohibited by law.

The only option that remains with the police to curtail speed is placing barricades at such places. This, however, should have been done more professionally, the commissioner said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Traffic) Sanjeev M. Patil told The Hindu that reflectors would be in place in a day or two.

Barricades have been placed in village/town limits on the four-lane NH 66 to curb speed

Most of them are found in Mukka, Haleyangadi and Mulki in Dakshina Kannada

And, Kaup, Katapadi, Udyavara, Brahmavar, Sasthana, Saligrama, Kota and Kumbhasi and Kundapur in Udupi

The ones in Dakshina Kannada do not have reflectors

Road users often collide with reflector-less barricades