MANGALURU: Shiradi Ghat will be opened to all kinds of passenger vehicles including multi-axle buses from Wednesday, October 3. The ghat stretch which is the main link between Bengaluru and Mangaluru, was shut to bus transportation for more than a month now after massive landslides struck the section during the rain season. Due to the closure, the ordinary and multi-axle buses used to take a detour via Charmadi ghat and Kudremukh respectively.
Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil said the decision to open the ghat stretch for buses was taken after a discussion with his Hassan counterpart Rohini Sindhuri.
Police and NHAI staff will be deployed round the clock at nine spots affected by landslides in DK region to regulate the traffic. The behaviour of the road will be closely watched for two weeks after which a call will be taken on whether to allow goods vehicles or not.
Senthil indicated that the ghat stretch is not fully safe as the major damage caused by the landslides is at the downhill of the ghat where half of the 9-meters road width has collapsed. Signages will be put up along the ghat asking people not to over-speed as the road is only safe for normal condition and not overspeeding.
Once the Shiradi ghat is fully restored, the DC said the Charmadi Ghat will be closed for traffic in order to take up restoration works. Charmadi ghat which is seeing heavy traffic due to closure of Shiradi for buses and trucks is severely damaged.
The district administration has decided to rope in Thangavelu, a retired IISc faculty who has expertise in seeing the fault lines in the road. “He will identify possible spots that may fail. He will start his job in a week's time. This is in addition to another IISc team being employed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for the same job,” said the DC.