TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS

ROAD DEVELOPMENT IN FIVE-YEAR PLANS

The primary aim in respect of road development was (1) to improve the standard of roads in charge of the District Local Board by repairing them, and (2) to construct new roads with a view to improving the position regarding communications.

During the First Plan period, the following roads under District Local Board in Khed and Mandangad talukas were taken up for improvement:—

Construction of the Oni-Rayapatan Road (12.01 miles) was undertaken to connect Ratnagiri and Kolhapur districts through the Anaskura Ghats. During the First Plan period, a length of 2½ miles costing Rs. 3,58,484 was undertaken. The remaining work is in progress and the entire road is expected to be completed during the Second Plan period. In addition to this, three new road works were also taken up under the First Plan viz., (i) Guhagar-Chiplun Road (construction of a culvert), (ii) Bankot-Mandangad Road (Mandangad-Shenala Section), and (iii) Pagewadi Diversion. The work of constructing a culvert on the Guhagar-Chiplun Road was taken up at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,27,000 and it is nearing completion. The Mandangad-Shenala section (length 4 miles) is completed. The Pagewadi Diversion road was taken up to obviate the transport difficulties on the flood-affected portion of the Bombay-Konkan-Goa road near Chiplun. The expenditure on the road length of 1.75 miles came to Rs. 1,05,538. These works are continued in the Second Five Year Plan.

In January 1954, a programme for the development of the West Coast Road at the estimated cost of one crore of rupees was sanctioned by the Government of India. The road starts from mile 45/1 in Kolaba District and ends at mile 332/1 in Ratnagiri district. Looking to the importance of the road, the Central Government agreed to develop the road to the standard of a through (fully-bridged) road with asphalted one-way carriageway.

The work of cement-concreting of the Ratnagiri-Kolhapur road was included in the programme. In order to ensure expeditious completion, the work which extends over 41 miles was suitably divided into three parts. Up to the end of the First Plan period 21.3 miles of road work was completed at the cost of Rs. 20,93,700. During the first year of the Second Plan (1956-57), work on additional seven miles was completed.

During the Second Plan period, the following new roads were taken up in addition to the spill-over works of the First Plan:—

The Bombay-Konkan-Goa Road (125 miles track) will also be modernised By cement-concreting it.

The following major bridges were undertaken during the First Plan period:—

(1) Bridges over the rivers Amba, Kelna and Dhamnad on the Chiplun-Kadawli-Dhamnad-Pali Road.

(2) Bridge over the Dubi river on the Khed-Khopi Road.

(3) Bridge over the Chorad Nalla and Jagbudi river on the Khed-Ambavli-Birmani Road.

(4) Bridge across Terekhol river near Banda on the Sawant-wadi-Dodamarg Road.

Bridges under (1) and (2) above were completed, while the other two were in progress.

Minor bridges on the Khed-Khopi Road, Khed-Ambavali-Birmani Road, and Sangameshwar-Deorukh-Sakharpa Road were also taken up for construction in the First Plan. Of these, the bridges on the Khed-Khopi Road were completed. Old bridges on the Malvan-Kasal Road were repaired and the work of modernising the bridges on the Guhagar-Chiplun Road and on the Bombay-Konkan-Goa Road has been undertaken. The remaining bridges are expected to be completed before 1961.

Statistics of Municipal Roads.

The analysis of road mileage in the municipalities given below would give some idea regarding the urban road statistics:—

TABLE No. 3. STATISTICS OF MUNICIPAL ROADS.

The table shows that out of a total road mileage of 104/1, urban road mileage in Ratnagiri district, metalled and unmetalled, was 62 miles and 5 furlongs, and 41 miles and 7 furlongs, respectively, in 1958.

Statistics of Vehicles in Municipal Towns.

Table below gives the number of vehicles plying in the municipal towns of Ratnagiri district. The vehicles are divided into five categories as below:—

Ratnagiri municipal town has a local bus service which is run by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation. In place of horsedrawn vehicles special type of ox-drawn carts, called Dhamanies, are used for passenger traffic.

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