KASARAGOD: A landslide occurred at Veeramala Hill near Chervathur in Kasaragod district on Wednesday morning, disrupting vehicular movement on National Highway 66. Fortunately, traffic was sparse at the time of the incident, but vehicles have since been diverted as a large volume of mud fell onto the highway.
Personnel from the Fire and Rescue Department, along with local residents, began clearing the debris. District Collector K. Inbasekar instructed the District Disaster Management Authority to take immediate action. A team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was also deployed to the site. Hosdurg Tahsildar and revenue officials have reached the location, and earthmovers have been brought in to assist in clearing the highway.
Social activists and local residents have blamed Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL), which is constructing the Chengala–Nileshwaram stretch, for unscientific hill-cutting practices that have led to frequent landslides in the area.
It is worth noting that the Cherkala–Chattanchal ghat road in the same stretch was closed for nearly a month following a major landslide at Bevinje on 17 June. Traffic on that route had only recently resumed.