Kolhapur is a historic city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of Maharashtra. It is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and is a hub of historical, religious, and cultural activities for centuries. Renowned for its unique food culture, including its signature Kolhapuri cuisine, the city is situated in the western part of Maharashtra and is often referred to as ‘Dakshin Kashi’ or ‘Mahateerth’. It boasts a rich history, which has given it various other names, including Kollagiri, Kolladigiripattan and Kollpur, all meaning ‘valley’. During around 2 CE, Kolhapur’s name was ‘Kuntal’.
Unfortunately, what makes this beautiful city infamous is the pathetic condition of its roads and callous approach of the authorities towards this problem. Now, with the heavy rains, it is a nightmare to drive through the city, particularly at peak hours.
The Kolhapur Municipal Corporation is run by an administrator, Manju Laxmi IAS, who seems to be unable to address the problems of citizens. If it is not the problem with the water supply, it is the problem with the pathetic road conditions. Sometimes, it is even difficult to sight potholes as they are covered with rain water. There are accidents on a daily basis, but who cares? The lives of citizens mean nothing to the bureaucrats and so-called guardians of the constitution, and they enjoy all the comforts while a common citizen is made to commute at the risk of his or her life and safety.
The National Highway Authority has taken up the work of building up the 83 Km Kolhapur-Gaganbawada-Talere Road, which ultimately leads to Goa. This work began in the year 2023. The concreting has been carried out but the work is at snail’s pace.
The road from Phulewadi-Balinga-Donwawade is turning out to be a killer road. With the heavy rains, the road is full of sludge, and deep pot holes are covered with water, making it difficult for motorists. State transport bus drivers, while driving on these roads, are rash and just do not care about the pot holes. They deliberately splash muddy water on two wheelers and also four wheelers. The windshields of cars are suddenly covered with muddy water, making it difficult for drivers to sight what is in front of them.
There are constant traffic snarls leading to chaos. The most dangerous stretch is the road over the Bhogawati River where a new bridge is to be constructed. It has been the demand of citizens to at least fill the pot holes with grovel. Even this demand has gone unattended.
The Collector of Kolhapur, Amol Yedge, has made visits and has been given assurances that the road work will be speeded up. But it appears that this is only for the press to carry out the news that ‘yes’ there has been a visit and the collector has taken up the matter.
Throw dust into the eyes of the citizens and everything is back to square one. As reported in the local newspapers on May 26, 2025, there have been sixteen accidents in a single day, but who cares? Does the Collector of Kolhapur care? Does the CEO of Zilla Parishad care? Does the Administrator of the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation care? Do the elected representatives care? A big NO. Because if they had really cared, people’s lives would not be put at risk.
The main culprit here is the engineer who has been entrusted with the work, R.B. Shinde, Assistant Engineer, National Highway Sub Division No.2. It is a remote possibility that this engineer has ever even left the comfort of his office to supervise the work being carried out.
To sum it all, in an important judgment, a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court, comprising Justice Abhay Oka and Justice C.V. Bhadang, has, in an interim order passed on May 20, 2015, held, that having pothole-free roads in reasonable condition is a fundamental right of the citizens, which is included in Article 21 of the Constitution. One hopes the so-called guardians of our constitution wake up to this fact and make the present killer roads into roads one can safely drive on.
These so-called guardians of our Constitution are collectively responsible in tarnishing the image of a visionary leader heading the ministry of transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari, and need to be made accountable for their inaction.
Christopher Johnson,
Director – C.S. Johnson Education and Consultancy Services Ltd Kolhapur
