BENGALURU: Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda claimed that “unscientific” works implemented by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) resulted in the recent landslide near Shirur near Ankola in Uttara Kannada district. Speaking in the Assembly on the impact of the monsoon, Gowda said the chief secretary has directed NHAI to rectify such works.
Gowda alleged that NHAI had cut the hill vertically where the landslide happened. “This stretch is filled with 5ft water. Officials are reaching the spot in trucks and not cars,” he said.
On monsoon woes, Gowda said houses, bridges, roads, and power lines are damaged. Even fields are inundated. Damage is more concentrated in the coastal and malnad districts, as these regions witnessed record rain, he added. “We have kept Rs 777 crore for relief works, and we are ready to give more to the DCs. We were well prepared, as the IMD had forecast heavy rains,’’ Gowda said. Gowda said the government has identified 2,225 gram panchayats as flood-prone pockets where over 2.38 lakh people reside. “At present, 1,247 GPs saw floods. We have formed a task force comprising fire and emergency services personnel, police, health, and women and child department officials. Once there is a red alert forecast, the task force gets activated,” he added.