MYSURU: A part of the road leading to the Nandi statue atop Chamundi Hill caved in due to heavy downpour in the city on Thursday. This is the second such incident in two years after a retaining wall on the same stretch had collapsed in October 2019.
As soon as several residents informed about the road caving in, authorities including the police barricaded the entire road stretch banning entry of vehicles on the road. Senior officials including the ones from the PWD visited the spot to assess the situation and assert the reason behind the collapse of the road.
While residents complained that plastic waste accumulated on the stretch had blocked water flow which might have resulted in the soil become wet and the heavy rains further worsened the situation.
As soon as the news of landslip at Chamundi Hill started to spread, District Minister S T Somashekhar directed authorities including the deputy commissioner to take up repair works on priority and ensure that it won’t affect tourist movement. Meanwhile, PWD Minister C C Patil said he has instructed his department officials to get the road repaired at the earliest.
Meanwhile, environmentalist have expressed their displeasure and said while such incidents are getting reported in the Chamundi Hill, governments continue to announce development projects which will further have an adverse impact on the environment, said referring to the ambitious ropeway project at Chamundi Hill.
Rain wreaks havoc in Mysuru
Overnight rain on Wednesday wreaked havoc with water entering houses in the low-lying areas and resulted in choking of several sanitary pipes in most of the areas. The heavy downpour also damaged roof of a fuel station on Vishwamanava Road which collapsed. There was no casualty. The rain uprooted several huge trees in and around major roads in the city while the Abhaya team of Mysuru City Corporation had a tough time responding to calls from residents addressing their woes. According to IMD, Mysuru recorded its wettest day in October since 2005 by recording over 82 mm.
Landslips on the way to Datta Peeta
Chikkamagaluru: Following heavy rain since Wednesday night , land slips have been reported near Honnammanahalla on the way to Datta Peeta. Heavy rain continued even on Thursday too. Tourist hotspot Mullayyanagiri and Chandradrona hill ranges are receiving copious rain. More landslides are likely to occur and pose danger to the tourists visiting these destinations on weekends. A team of officials rushed to the spot and are engaged in controlling the further damage to the side walls of the waterfall.