Since July 5, only essential services and buses permitted to use Ghat route
Ongoing work at the damaged section of Anmod Ghat.
BELAGAVI
Truck owners have appealed to authorities to permit the movement of all vehicles through the Anmod Ghat on a regulated one-way basis.
The All Goa Lorry Association and Lorry Owner Associations from Belagavi and Uttar Kannada District have complained that they are incurring huge losses as trucks have been forced to take a detour of about 100–150 km since trucks have been prohibited from travelling via the Anmod Ghat.
On July 4, a portion of the road within Goa’s limits at Anmod Ghat collapsed after cracks appeared on the surface. Consequently, the North Goa District Collector on July 5 issued orders restricting the ghat route exclusively to essential services and buses, while prohibiting all other vehicles.
Apart from essential service carriers, vehicles travelling between Goa and Karnataka have been forced to take the longer routes via Karwar or Chorla.
More than six weeks have passed, and the impact is being felt by transporters in Goa and Karnataka.
The extended detours have led to a steep rise in freight charges for heavy vehicles, directly resulting in increased prices of essential commodities and other goods.
Many truck operators from Karnataka have been forced to keep their vehicles idle, as it has become unviable to travel an extra 100–150 km due to prohibitions on the Anmod Ghat.
Meanwhile, temporary reinforcement work has been carried out at the collapsed stretch by placing rods along the road, though complete restoration is expected to take considerable time.
In light of this, heavy vehicle operators are demanding that home guards be stationed on either side of the damaged patch so that all categories of vehicles may be permitted to pass through one-way traffic movement.
