SAKLESHPUR (KARNATAKA): A shortage of labour to help clear debris on the railway track between Sakleshpur and Yedakumari, as well as the Subramanya railway line following landslides, has railway officials frustrated. While some are toiling and trying their best to clear the debris, the scale of damage requires many more people and labourers are refusing to work on the railway tracks fearing more landslides.
Officials have now turned to ask families from Assam and West Bengal, settled in different coffee plantations, to assist with the work. According to sources, there are landslides in 50 different places and 15 earth moving machines and 25 railway gangmen have been working round the clock to free the tracks.
Train traffic between Bengaluru and Mangaluru as well as to Karwar has been halted or diverted for the last ten days and this is expected to continue as officials said that a minimum of 30 days would be required to clear the debris. Landslides, along with rains, continue to hamper operations in these affected areas.
Meanwhile, even the land route connecting Hassan with Mangaluru, Madikeri with Hassan and Somvarpet with Shanivarsante remains closed and over 100 large trees are said to have fallen across the roads due to strong winds.
Coffee plantations, spread over hundreds of acres have been wasted and standing paddy crops of over a 1000 acres has been submerged in flood water in Arkalgud and Sakleshpur taluks.
As part of its contributions to the relief efforts, the Hassan milk union limited has decided to send 27,000 litres of Good life milk to Madikeri and Ramanathapur following the direction of District Incharge minister and HAMUL president HD Revanna.