Gangolli: The road used to access this village has become a curse of sorts. Despite persistent demands for the past one and a half decades, it has not been developed.

Once the monsoon season begins, the entire village loses its connectivity.

To add to the woes, the hardship faced by the family of a specially-abled person to take him for medical treatment once every fortnight is beyond words.

This is the story of the pathetic condition of the Kodapadi Cross-Sanyasibale Kadamaru Mane road, located in the 5th ward under the jurisdiction of Gujjadi Gram Panchayat, and the plight of the local residents.

Although the villagers have been continuously submitting memorandums to the panchayat and concerned authorities since 2010 for the development of this road, the work has remained limited to temporary repairs only, and a permanent solution to the problem has not been found.

More than 150 houses

Around 150 families reside along the 1.5-km-long Kodapadi-Sanyasibale Kadamaru Mane road, and hundreds of people depend on this very road for their daily commute. While more than 40 school and college students travel along this route daily to reach their educational institutions, over 30 senior citizens use this same road to travel to Kundapura and Manipal for medical treatment.

Hurdles for the treatment of the specially-abled

For Janardhan Poojary, a resident of Kadamaru, the dilapidated condition of the road has become a major crisis in life. Having lost his left leg in a lorry accident three years ago, he still needs to visit Manipal Hospital once every 15 days for treatment. However, due to the terrible condition of this Kadamaru Mane road, auto-rickshaw drivers hesitate to come here. Transporting him on a two-wheeler is also dangerous, making every hospital visit a major challenge for his family. With the monsoon setting in, there is a fear of the road deteriorating further, leaving the family anxious about how to take him for his essential medical check-ups.