Mangaluru (The Hindu): With the old bus shelter at Pumpwell here being removed, people are now forced to stand on the footpath waiting for buses on the newly laid concrete stretch on the Pumpwell-Padil Road which was opened for two-way traffic on Monday.

The road is uneven for 150 m from Pumpwell Junction with one side having concrete road at a higher level and the other side having tar road at a lower level.

The corporation took up work to widen the 150 m stretch a month ago to end frequent traffic jams at the mouth of the junction to Padil Road. Accordingly, Padil-bound traffic had been closed for building the 150 m long concrete road and one-way traffic from Padil to Pumpwell had been allowed.

But even now if a bus stopped on the concrete road to pick up passengers, another bus cannot move smoothly as the other side (tar road) is on a lower level. And, it has not helped avoid traffic jams altogether.

Without laying kerbs on the edge of the concrete road, the Mangaluru City Corporation has put barricades there.

“It is a planning made for engineers of Mangaluru City Corporation and not for people,” said G. Hanumantha Kamath, president, Nagarika Hitarakshana Samithi. The focus of the civic body was only spending funds before March and not take up work scientifically as required for the people, he said.

Mr. Kamath said that no reflectors have been placed at the edge of the concrete road. It could make vehicles from the edge to roll down, especially during heavy rain at night and the rainy season is not far away, he said.

“Should people wait for any accident to happen for taking corrective steps?” he asked.

According to H.N. Gopalakrishna, corporation commissioner, the tar road stretch would remain so for now as the corporation has not prepared any estimation to upgrade it parallel to the stretch upgraded.

Gururaj Maralihalli, Executive Engineer in-charge of the work, said that the project has cost Rs. 50 lakh. The tar road on the other side is about 5 m wide and it would remain so for now, he added.