Crossing the River Kali... after the Bridge Closure..

While the closure of the Kali Bridge has put commuters to inconvenience, for several unemployed youths in the area it has come as a welcome chance to make a fast buck. The bridge, which connects Karwar and Sadashivgad, has been closed for a month for repairs, and is open only for two-wheelers.
A few adventurous boat owners too have found a way to get cars, jeeps and other light vehicles across the river. - Express Buzz

Vehicles were loaded on boats and ferried across the River Kali. Even two boats were joined together to ferry Four vehicles, and the boat owners saved some fuel/money by running the Boat-duo on one engine. The time to reach 800metres across the Kali River was about Ten-15 minutes, but loading and unloading took a lot of time.

There have been confusions as to whether the owners of the vehicle can get to claim Insurance in the event of mishap whie crossing the river like this.... The Karwar District Administration was quick to wash its hands off this, by saying that the Government had not authorised the boats, and it was the sole risk of the Vehicle owners to ferry their vehicles on such boats.

However, a good number of vehicles have been ferried across the River for a fee of Rs.350 to 400-00 (8 to 10 US Dollars) per vehicle, since 06-01-2009, without any untoward incident, saving nearly 80 minutes of road travel time using te roundabout diversion of 80kms, and fuel.

But the latest News is that :-
The repair work of Kali bridge has encountered a technical problem and the district administration has decided to reopen the bridge for the commuters in a day or two. The plunger of the hinge bearing could not be separated from the main bearing, the sources said. The bridge built in 1983 is being repaired for the first time. Since the time it was built the eight bearings have not been changed, sources from the National Highway department said. A Mumbai-based engineering company has taken up the repair work and more than 50 workers are engaged in the work. Earlier it was assumed that for the replacement of each bearing three days would be enough and the entire work would be completed within a month. But the workers are unable to remove even the screw of one bearing, so the National Highway department and the district administration of Uttar Kannada have decided to postpone the repair work. Sources from Uttara Kannada district administration said that an expert team of the engineers from New Delhi would arrive at Karwar to study the problem and bridge would be closed during the next repair probably in March. - Times of India

Let Pray for the Victims of the Haiti Earthquake.....