Kurnool: The Nallamala ghat road leading to Srisailam that undoubtedly appears beautiful and picturesque lack vital sign boards, signals, zebra-crossings and speed-breakers making it a nightmarish experience for some of the pilgrims travelling on it.
The awesome valleys and serpentine bends leading to Srisailam temple have witnessed several accidents that took place in the region. At a time when the district administration has joined in the 28 Road Safety Week celebrations, the killer ghats await the much needed attention.
The two Srisailam ghat roads which fall under the jurisdiction of three districts, have been neglected by all concerned over the years and have become unsafe for use by vehicles.
One ghat road spans over a stretch of 110 km running from the temple town to Atmakur on the Srisailam-Kurnool route while the other 120 km up to Munnanur on the Hyderabad-Srisailam route.
The authorities concerned have not done little to ensure the safety of road users on the two ghat roads. One can hardly see any sign board, signal, zebra-crossing and speed-breaker on the ghat roads. Many accidents happen on the two roads regularly including fatal ones.
The ghat roads are being administered by three districts - Kurnool, Prakasam and Mahbubnagar. Five departments -- Roads and Buildings, Forest, Medical and Health, Irrigation and Police -- are tasked with ensuring the safety of pilgrims travelling on the ghat roads. But they have failed due to lack of coordination among themselves.
Various political parties, pilgrims and locals have submitted list of demands to the government and the district authorities concerned to ensure the safety of the pilgrims and also to render prompt medicare in case of accidents.
Pilgrims to the Srisailam and regular commuters to the Srisailam demand the establishment of a well-equipped government hospital at Sunnipenta; handing over of the present Irrigation Department-run dispensary there to the Medical and Health Department; reopening of the defunct blood bank, which was inaugurated by the former CM YSR, there; launch of two 108 emergency medical vans; and widening of the ghat roads. However, there has been no response to the demands from anyone concerned, lament the common public.
