Karwar: Bad roads leading to famous Sathodi and Magodu waterfalls have left tourists fuming. Thousands of tourists visited the two famous waterfalls located near Yellapur in Uttara Kannada district this weekend.

But due to bad road conditions, many tourists had to walk a long distance to reach the waterfalls. Many vehicles reportedly got damaged due to bad roads in the last two days. The roads leading to both the waterfalls are in a bad condition. It has now become a big task for tourists to reach the waterfalls as the roads are filled with large potholes.

The condition of the roads is turning from bad to worse as the area has been receiving rain for the last couple of days.

Sathodi falls is located about 30 km from Yellapur town and the road leading to the falls is full of potholes. The last 5-km before the falls has become unmotorable for many months.

"The authorities always take up repair work at wrong time. The waterfalls attract tourists till December, but the road condition is turning away many tourists,” said a regular visitor. Magodu falls, located 22 km from Yellapur town, has similar issues. “For the last two years, the condition of the road has not changed. Riding two-wheelers has become difficult due to potholes. Most of the tourists who visit here rue bad roads,” said Mohan Patil, a tourist from Hubballi.

Deputy Commissioner S S Nakul said that the administration has sent a road restoration proposal of Rs 1.8 crore for Sathodi falls and Rs 2.6 crore for Magodu falls to the state government. “The project has not been approved yet. Shortly, the project may get nod,” he said.