Mysuru: Following High Court directive to lay speed-breakers at an interval of 500 metres for the 11-km stretch on the Mysuru-Virajpet Road near Mathigodu elephant camp passing through Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, the Public Works Department has begun laying the road humps.

Road hump works have begun before the Anechowkur Gate, (from Mysuru side) a border gate that separates Mysuru and Kodagu. While some of the road humps are being painted for motorists to identify the steep gradient, some of the humps have no indicators whatsoever and cannot be seen by vehicles, especially in the night as it is a forest area.

Commuters have expressed their anguish over non-marking of humps. While the High Court directive comes as a saviour of wildlife, the PWD, the implementing agency, is laying the humps recklessly, risking the lives of motorists, they alleged. They have appealed to the Department to mark the road humps in bright paints and also install signboards indicating their presence.

Speaking to Star of Mysore on the adverse effects of the speed-breakers, former Vice- President of Kodagu Chamber of Commerce Sridhar Nellithaya said that the move to put road humps for every 500 metres would trouble commuters, especially those in urgent medical need. “The 11-km stretch will henceforth be dotted with more than 22 humps. South Kodagu does not have a good hospital and most of the patients are rushed to Mysuru on this particular road. Now the humps will restrict the smooth movement of emergency vehicles and also increases the risk of patients who may die en-route due to the delay,” he said.

Sridhar, who is also the former President of Kodagu Journalists’ Association, said that preventing wild animals from entering roads is the responsibility of the Forest Department. “Who will be responsible if vehicles are attacked by tuskers when they slow down to navigate the humps,” he questioned.

Kaverappa, a regular traveller on this road told SOM that one speed-beaker per 500 metres was illogical. “There are only two or three speed-breakers inside Bandipur where a lot of road kills happen. On the Anechowkur road, only one tusker was killed and it is a stray incident. Now all the travellers between South Kodagu and Mysuru are inconvenienced,” he rued.