CHIKKAMAGALURU: The respite from rains on Saturday was short lived as the region was pounded by a fresh bout of rains from the very night, to again throw life in the district out of gear. Traffic along the Mangaluru-Bengaluru highway all through SK Border and Kudremukh was disrupted following landslides at as many as four places. To reduce the traffic on the Charmadi Ghat road, plying of KSRTC buses was stopped at Kudremukh.
As a result of heavy damage to the road due to heavy the rains, vehicular movement between Jayapura and Basarikatte was disrupted. The road caved in near Javali Hill to severely restrict the smooth movement of traffic.
Between Melpal and Wadasalu, 100 m of the road got damaged due to the heavy rainfall. DC M K Srirangaiah visited the area and ordered a through inspection. He asked PWD officials to repair the damage on a temporary basis immediately so as to make the road fit for vehicular movement.
Owing to the closing down of the Shiradi Ghat road, a large number of vehicles including government and private buses, lorries and others began to use the Charmadi Ghat road leading to traffic congestion. Between Friday night and Saturday morning, a number of vehicles got stranded on the road in long queues on either side of it.
Vans transporting newspapers, milk and vegetables from Mudigere and Mangaluru were hit hard, resulting in delay of these services. It is learnt that some youths favouring private buses halted other vehicles to make way for the commercial passenger vehicles.
Near Guddethota in Koppa taluk, a portion of the road caved in resulting in the complete halting of traffic. According to a farmer from Aldur, the region received heavy rainfall on Sunday. “Since May 12, rain has been battering the region. We have lost all hopes of harvesting any crop from plantations till next year,” he added.
Kottigehara-Horanadu road faces closure
The Kottigehara–Horanadu state highway is under the threat of being closed for traffic as mounds of soil has been sliding onto the road near Kempumori of Javali.Due to the lack of a check wall, soil on one side of the road near Kempumori is sliding downhill. If this continues, it could lead to a serious mishap. Javali Gram Panchayat member Aswath Javali said the road is caving in slowly, which could eventually turn dangerous. “A parapet wall has to be constructed as the rain is showing no signs of subsiding,” he said.