KOLHAPUR: The scenic Amba ghat continues to remain shut for heavy vehicles after the road became weak due to landslides and cave-ins during monsoon. The hilly region along the ghat the connects Kolhapur and Ratnagiri districts got very heavy rainfall this year.
The repair work is ongoing at a slow pace and transporters said they were facing hefty losses. The heavy vehicles are forced to take an alternative longer route, increasing the travel distance by 60-70km.
Jaygad port in Ratnagiri is frequently used for sugar export. Every year, around 5 lakh tonnes of sugar is exported from this port and sugar from Maharashtra and Karnataka arrives at the port daily.
Omkar Patil, a sugar exporter, said, “As the vehicles have to take a longer route to reach Jaygad port, it takes more time and money. The vehicle owners are not agreeing easily to travel to Jaygad port. As a result, the sugar produce from factories is also not getting picked up on time and causing losses to factory owners, traders and the transporters.”
Even the fish transporters are facing difficulties and as a result, prices of fish have gone up. Chetan Sawant, a fish stall owner at fish market near Bindu chowk, said, “As the vehicles are taking a longer route to ply daily between Kolhapur-Ratnagiri, the increased travel cost has impacted the rates of fish. Already, the fishing has gone down due to cyclones and heavy rain. The road is under construction and has been kept closed for heavy vehicles. Hopefully, the road will get repaired soon.”
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