Amid fresh landslips on Tuesday night along the Charmadi Ghat stretch, engineers from the National Highways division of the Public Works Department are confident of opening the stretch for traffic on Friday if no fresh landslides occur.
Hundreds of vehicles and people were stranded since Monday night till Tuesday afternoon after trees fell and landslips occurred at nine locations along the stretch.
As the authorities summoned additional earthmovers to clear the debris on Wednesday, they learnt about fresh landslips in at least six locations occurring on Tuesday night, said a senior engineer from the PWD.
“We are confident of removing all debris and fallen trees by tomorrow evening,” the engineer added.
Charmadi Ghat, which has now become a crucial link between the coast and the hinterland after the closure of Shiradi Ghat for concreting, has been witnessing frequent traffic pile-ups in the recent past. Hundreds of passengers spent the whole night two days ago in darkness and heavy rain and without any food.
The engineer said that the region appears to be facing a peculiar occurrence this time following very heavy rain. Trees were blown back and forth by gusty winds as a consequence of which soil surrounding their roots got loosened causing landslips, the engineer said.
Vehicles diverted
Police from Dakshina Kannada and Chikkamagaluru districts closed the ghat section for traffic after stranded vehicles were allowed passage by Tuesday afternoon to facilitate clearing of debris. Vehicles were diverted from Ujire in Dakshina Kannada and Kottigehara in Chikkamagaluru district on alternative routes.
Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda told The Hindu that the police are considering extending the closure if a request comes from the PWD.
Shiradi Ghat
The PWD engineer said that concreting the entire remaining 13-km stretch of Shiradi Ghat between Kempu Hole Guest House and Addahole near Gundya is completed. Only approaches to three new bridges are to be concreted and if rain abates for a week, that could be completed, he said.
Dry lean concrete has already been laid for these approaches, while pavement quality concrete has to be laid to give finishing touches, the engineer said.
