After a Great !dea of cutting trees to make way for better and bigger roads on Angol road, now its the turn of RPD college road to Patwardhan Layout road widening.

RPD colege road near Gomatesh school

The road was up for road widening a while and since yesterday the Axe is on the trees so that a road can be made and widened.

all these trees will be no more in a day

This road has a dense cluster of trees under which love stories and break ups have happened and these trees have been a witness to many such events.

But now all these trees will be history and under whose shade will the love bloom or break happen. This road is mostly flooded by college students and many enjoy the shade of trees to just chat on the latest movie or newbie around.

One og the chopped of tree

Axe affect

Development at a cost to nature, can we do something I dont know.

If we oppose the said tree cutting the wider roads will never happen.

What an !dea Sir je!!

Halga Cross to Anmod Goa Border – 84 kms road

Part of connecting Goa with Hyderabad via Belgaum (Halga cross)

Halga cross to Peeranwadi bypass of 11 kms

The most awaited road project which will help Belgaum in a great manner will be the Belgaum Panjim NH4A expansion and widening it to 4 lanes.

The NHAI has issued advertisements ion local papers to all the land owners and farmers on the route and has issued notices to them to get their objections if any, and the objections have to be filed in 21 days.

In total 33lakhs 94 thousand 729 sq mtrs of land will be acquired for the 4 laning of the road.

Out of 547 survey numbers advertised for acquisition 49 as government and remainder belong to private.

Farmers and land owners of Halga, M Vadgaon, Machhe, Mazgaon, Zadshaour, Desur, Angol, Peeranwadi will get affected. The road will also be going through Khanapur and Supa Talukas.

The 4 laning of road from Goa to Karnataka border has already begun and once this other stretch is ready Goa can be reached in a short time may be under two and half hours.(151 kms)

Work to begin will require at least another 3-4 months as compensation will have to paid and all other formalities will have to be completed. But as the process has been started, it should be a sigh of relief.

Belgaum in this past couple of months has been in the limelight for not so good reasons for the city as a whole. From controversies on 100 crore to its implementation. Still none of the projects under the 100 crore special grant have been completed but newer projects under said scheme are being launched.

See the trees on the road side all this will go in three days

The present one is the road widening of the Angol Road (from Big Bazaar to Shambhaji Chowk Raghunath Peth). The road will be widened to 50 feet as per the CDP(city development plan). Work has already begun on the road and first deaths are those of the trees which were standing there even before we all were born.

See the logs of wood

Logs are lying on the road side

The road does have heavy traffic and as the Aai Kalavatidevi temple is on the same road many throng the road daily.

After cutting the Tree it is set to fire, how in human

The trees have been chopped off and there was a controversy over the cutting the trees as a tender for the same was not taken out, but as it happens always, all is well again and the trees have been cut. The worst part about 98 trees have been numbered and will be cut one by one. 98 trees cut will this impact the mother nature it will for sure, but who cares!

Numbering done on each tree

The Killing is on

gutter work has begun

The road looks clean and green but once these trees are cut it will be nightmare for sure.

My questions to all people of Belgaum and those who are implementing it as well:

1. you have cut the threes will you plant any more?
   The answer to this will be yes by the authorities but there is no space now on this road, so you will get an answer that 2 trees have been planted in some jungle, how stupid.
2. Could many of the trees being saved?
   This answer is very difficult to answer for anyone, as all are in a hurry to commence a project complete it half and start another one.
3. Will the cutting of trees affect Global warming?For sure YES! 98 trees cut from a single street means so much of less oxygen and so much less of carbon dioxide in the air.
4. Last question to all, do we need this kind of development at a cost to mother nature?
   

   Save trees This hoarding is there all over the city, What an Idea Sir je

All photos: UkMaD & Team AAB
People on this blog have heavily commented on this blog on border issue and have fought it out to have their say, Belgaumites fight for this, people staying away from Belgaum when you come back it wont be your Belgaum anymore, it would rather be a different world altogether.

God Bless us!
For me personally this was even worse than the Mahatma Phule road coverage.

In the sudden spree of the corporation of road widening in the city the residents of Angol road gave their consent for the road to be widened to 50 feet as per the current City development plan. There were rumors in the city that the said road would be 110 feet.

Yesterday in a meeting with residents and the corporation authorities, residents gave their nod for the widening of the road to 50 feet and a notice of 15 days will be given before the work will begin. Also adequate TDR will be issued as compensation.

On Tuesday the PWD department took the marking work for the proposed 120 feet road from 3^rd gate to Peeranwadi.

This was a long demand by the industrialists of Udaymbag. The road widening was approved long back but as it is a part of NH 4A the PWD department earlier had said that it can’t take road widening work, but now after the district authorities issuing a order to the PWD to undertake the road widening work the PWD has begun the work.

As this road leads from Udaymbag this road till Peeranwadi will ease a lot of traffic problems caused to the industries there. The work will commence soon.

All photos taken by UkMaD.

The said road will join Old PB road to Govaves. This is Mahatma Fule Road pictures.

Belgaum has never seen this kind of a road widening spree in its history. The last time the road widening was done on such a scale must have been the Congress road widening many years back.

At this moment there are 5 roads being planned to be widened.

RPD college road to Patwardhan layout (under 100 crore special grant)

Mahatma Fule road to Old PB road (under 100 crore special grant)

APMC road (under 100 crore special grant)

Khanapur Road (Sanchayani circle to Suryakant Park) (Cantonment Board)

Govaves to 3^rd Gate (PWD)

Old PB road upto bus stand

Work at RPD college road to Patwardhan layout has not begun still and matter is in court.

Mahatma Fule road to Old PB road work has begun. A school building is being demolished which was at the corner of Fule road and Khade Bazar. The school has been shifted to Shastri Nagar. The JCB has been used to dig the mud out on the road till the Managal karlaya. This road will be a link road to the NH4 and will join the Old PB road.

Yesterday APMC road was surveyed and markings made for its widening as well. But some residents opposed the manner in which the survey and markings were done. Residents said that the marking was done in a wrong manner which was suitable to the big fishes.

Khanapur Road (Sanchayani circle to Suryakant Park) – work has not begun still but there are chances it will in the near future. As this comes under the Cantonment, it might just take a while before it starts.

PWD department has done a survey of the Govaves to 3^rd gate for widening of the said road. The 2 km stretch will be widened in days to come.

The old PB road (Dharwad Road) is also being widened to 60 feet. The work is in progress on this road as well. But the major demand for a railway over bridge has not been heeded to, only the road will be widened.

The corporation commissioner also visited Pangul Galli yesterday and met the locals with the local representatives for the proposed road widening. The present road is 18 to 30 feet wide which according to map should be 40 feet. Commissioner said that if all the locals gave their consent they can go ahead with the road widening.

After the Traffic cops have put the dividers people are trying to turn from the spot before the barricades have been put up which is causing more trouble for drivers.

Barricades being used a dividers

Cars turning in this fashion are causing more trouble, but there is no other way

One more, That Tempo has to go to the circle and then take a right, driver thought otherwise

The traffic signal at the Cantonment board circle is being repaired today. Hope the chaos is reduced in the days to come.

The cantonment board in its meeting on Monday decided to take up the widening of the Khanapur Road (Suryakant Park to Sanchayani Circle). Dividers will be put with central lighting.

This was a long pending matter with the Cantonment and at last it has been decided to go forward with this and work will commence shortly.

There was plan to divert traffic on Khanapur road and make it a ONE WAY, vehicles from Tilakwadi could come on Khanapur road but from Bogarves will take a St.Pauls high school road route. But this matter was discussed and later decided that let the road be widened first, traffic lights be made operational and then the same would be decided.

In the same meeting it was decided that the first floor of the existing Cantonment complex on Khanapur road be built on BOT basis.

A city and its citizens demand good infrastructure and the government in its normal way decides to implement a project which was made years ago and when finally at the implementation stage something else crops up and matter goes to the court and when the court will decide no one knows and we citizens have to dream about a project being completed.

All the above is true for the project of RING ROAD in Belgaum. It was once said to be the most important project for Belgaum and its development. But since its plan on paper nothing has moved even a millimeter on ground.

Belgaum ring road planned in two phases.
1) Hindalga-Peeranwadi-Halga
2) Hindalga-Kakti-Halga

Total ring road length 38 kms.
Ring road breadth 100 feet
285 acres of land needed
Rs.1425 lakh for land acquisition
Ring road total expenditure Rs.30 crores

10 years ago, the plan for the ring road was prepared. Imagine, since ten years nothing has happened on ground; only papers have changed places and this road, which will be a boon to traffic, will remain a dream.

In 2006 a Jaipur based company was awarded the contract but even before the work could commence the urban development ministry cancelled the contract and gave it to state road Development Corporation. And here it all began, the never ending story of court cases and we having to wait for a period not known.

The Jaipur Company rushed to the High court and the court stood by the Jaipur based company. After this citizens felt now all will be good, but it was not to be, the Belgaum authorities challenged the court decision in a higher court. And still the matter is under hearing. When it will be heard and when it will be disposed is not known. But we as citizens have to wait and wait.

The project estimate must have increased many folds from 2006. The number of vehicles has also doubled since 2006. Increased traffic on NH 4 A, of heavy trucks commuting caused accidents almost daily and many have lost their lives.

If the ring road existed, the movement of traffic would have been much smoother as the heavy trucks going from Kolhapur to Goa would take the ring road.

The Karnataka state budget 2009-10 states that Ring road facilities will be provided to Belgaum with private participation during 2009-10. Hope this happens.

So what can we do?

We should ask our elected representatives to look into the matter on a urgent basis and get the matter solved. But it seems even they are not interested in this.

Khanapur road from Govaves to 3^rd gate will be widened to 120 feet. The PWD has surveyed the area and made markings on the buildings on the road. The said road will be built under the special grant from the CM of Rs.9 odd crores.

The said road after completion will have dividers.

The road from Fish market (near old age home) till Zad Shahapur comes under the PWD as a part of the NH 4A . The initial plan was to widen the road till Udyambag at least. But now PWD is only widening the 2 km stretch until 3 rd gate.

With this survey the shop owners at RPD corner are in a fix and many will lose their livelihood as the RPD college road is also planned to be widened.

The corporation has gone ahead with the marking on the houses and shops along the RPD college road. The centre of the existing road was taken and 40 feet on both sides was marked which made the residents a bit uneasy and said that nothing should be done without their consent and until they get full compensation.

Still nothing has been decided about the compensation for the persons who will lose their property. The said road has been sanctioned under the special grant of 100 crore and the money can be spent only on the road and not as compensation. The city corporation can easily say that we have nothing to do with it and we cannot compensate.

The residents on Monday will submit a memorandum to the commissioner in this regard. The residents are angry in the manner in which the whole process is being under taken. Residents demanded that first make the ring road and then widen this road. First complete all incomplete works in the city and then come here. As this road has colleges the rush is only until 4 pm and 3 months when there are no classes this road is bare. Residents are ready for the road to be widened to 50 feet but not 80 feet.

Now it is left to be seen how the residents approach this matter and how the authorities handle this. Going to the court for a stay was also on the cards of the residents.