Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner H.V. Darshan has directed the Mangalore City Police and the city corporation to submit a report within a week on reopening the Maidan Road stretch between the Clock Tower and Hamilton Circle (State Bank of India) to two-way traffic. The circular one-way was introduced by the then Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar on September 24, 2021, when K.V. Rajendra was the Deputy Commissioner and the road safety committee chairman. Mr. Kumar had declared stretches of Maidan Road — 550 meters from Clock Tower to AB Shetty Circle; 250 meters from AB Shetty Circle to Hamilton Circle; 250 meters from Hamilton Circle to Rao & Rao Circle; and 450 meters from Rao & Rao Circle to Clock Tower as one-way.
The DC said there were many complaints about severe inconvenience being caused to the public due to the imposition of a one-way traffic rule on the circular road between Clock Tower and Hamilton Circle, since September 2021. The Mangalore City Corporation and Mangalore Smart City Ltd., which executed the civil works, should hold a meeting with the City Police Commissioner to explain their plans for reopening the two-way traffic on the road.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Siddarth Goyal informed the meeting that one of the seven lanes on the Clock Tower – AB Shetty Circle stretch of the one-way road has become a parking lot, with buses and other vehicles remaining parked throughout the day. Moreover, government vehicles, including those of the police and fire services, often struggle to navigate one-way streets in emergencies.
