The July 16 landslide in Ankola taluk on the Karwar-Kumta stretch of National Highway (NH)-66 which claimed at least seven lives, besides a series of other landslides, including the one blocking the busy NH-75 connecting Bengaluru with Mangaluru, have led to many reconsidering weekend plans involving long drives on national, state or district highways.
It is the disaster that has been seeded in their minds, discouraging them from presenting any opportunity to be victimized by possible similar catastrophes. The images of tonnes of rocks and soil blanketing NH-66 near Shirur in Ankola taluk are likely sending chills down their spines.
The tragedy reportedly buried a whole roadside eatery with an entire family, carried a gasoline tanker along with its occupants into the adjoining Gangavalli River, and buried two other lorries and another family travelling in a car, which has remained under tonnes of debris that cascaded down on them. Most of them — some still unidentified — still lie buried under the humongous pile, which makes heavy earth-movers brought to the spot look like little toys in comparison.
The incident should not be looked at in isolation, rather a close look needs to be taken at why it occurred and what needs to be done to prevent such tragedies. A landslide rarely occurs without anthropogenic factors at play. Maladies originate from man-made activities which, in the pursuit of rapid infrastructure development, blind the authorities to the possibilities of such disastrous consequences. Besides the casualties, the consequences include colossal loss in land and property. For instance, losses incurred due to the landslides in Kodagu a few years ago are estimated to be upwards of Rs 35,000 crore.
Landslides are such that even if there are no casualties, they drastically affect human lives. Both NH-66 and NH-75 (the latter landslide occurred a day after the former one) are busy roads which cater to heavy traffic linked to business & commerce, tourism, medical emergencies and general transport needs. In fact, any road connecting two destinations is just as important because they serve the very purpose of continuity of routines supporting life and everything related to it across regions. Roads are needed, and they are there for a purpose — to connect villages, towns and cities to facilitate a running economy, ensuring steady supplies of essentials needed for life and living.
Karnataka has a good road network. According to the Public Works Department, the state has 7,588.67 Km of national highways, 27,814.45 Km of state highways and 56,165.48 Km of major district roads. There are 14 national highways and 115 state highways, 14 of them (ghats) meandering through the eco-sensitive Western Ghats to connect Coastal Karnataka with Interior Karnataka.
That makes it all the more important for road engineers to apply due diligence while planning roads through the hills and mountain ranges. Unfortunately, experts have pointed out that while roads are being laid through such terrains, adequate prior scientific tests are not carried out except soil testing. The slopes of the hills are cut closer to vertical, posing a grave threat especially during heavy rains.
Deforestation in this eco-sensitive region only makes it worse. Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has been vociferously blaming the National Highways Authority of India for the tragic landslide in Ankola taluk, alleging poor scientific application while expanding NH-66 at the ill-fated spot.
When roads in the hills — or adjacent to hill slopes — are constructed, excavations have to be conducted into the hill face, the stability of which is of crucial importance to prevent massive cave-ins or landslides during heavy rains. The sedimentary rocks-laden road planes should be designed to slope away from the cut hill slopes. But before that, experts say, soil chemistry and non-destructive tests need to be conducted to assess the stress and endurance of the surface and subsurface soil, and the rocky structures that are embedded well within. Scientific means and accurate calculation models are available to assess how much prone to landslides particular regions are before planning roads there. If found to be unsafe, alternate plans can be explored instead of rushing through to lay the road and repent when catastrophic landslides occur due to the absence of adequate scientific application.
Frequent inspections on a scientific basis are needed to keep a check to prevent possible landslides. Safety is prime, and that cannot be compromised.
Nirad Mudur
Deputy Resident Editor, Karnataka
niradgmudur@newindianexpress.com