Bad State of Sampaje Ghat with Multiple Landslides is a Nightmare for Motorists & Commuters
Mangaluru : Western ghats are so very beautiful in monsoon. Of course, you should be a person who loves rain. If you do not like getting wet in the rain, then avoid monsoon and winter is your time to visit Madikeri/Coorg (until January end). But a bunch of us comprising of doctors, engineers and entrepreneurs took a long ride from Mangaluru to Madikeri to enjoy the goodness of the cold and rainy weather in the hilly Madikeri during the weekend. However, we had great fun during a one day stay in Madikeri, the the drive on Sampaje Ghat section was bit scary and felt like a nightmare while returning back at night from Madikeri to Mangaluru.
The connectivity between Mangaluru and Madikeri town appears to take long as Sampaje the arterial ghat section connecting Mangaluru with Madikeri town has suffered multiple landslides and engineers are finding it difficult to approach the section to assess the damage with incessant rains. Now that the monsoon has just started, you are already seen landslides on certain parts of this Ghat section, and if rains continue to hit hard on this Ghat section, you are talking about more landslides, and will be a havoc for motorists and people living and doing business in that area. These landslides are pretty bad in this region, and we have seen the disaster it created last year- but still the authorities have not taken up any restoration work until now.
Looks like, with repeated landslides, it has been a herculean task to clear the ghat for traffic in some areas, and motorists have to face the brunt of this situation. Heaps of mud which seem to fall on the road any moment and the unattended huge wooden logs which were washed along with the flash floods on NH 275 of Sampaje Ghat (from Jodupala to Madikeri) are grim reminders of the nightmarish flash floods and landslides is a grim reminder that shook the region in 2018. The restoration works, taken up after a series of landslides at 14 places from Jodupala to Madikeri, were all temporary and focused just at facilitating the movement of vehicles.
As per a few residents and shop keepers on that Ghat section who said that no permanent restoration works have been taken up so far due to the the tug-of-war between the Central and the State governments, and in the meantime, the work on storm water drains and filling up the shoulders are in progress on a few stretches now. There is no protection wall on the hillock to prevent soil erosion or boulders from rolling down the hillock at Monnangeri, Second Monnangeri, Katikeri and Madenadu during this monsoon.
A man running a tender coconut petty shop on this Ghat said that pretty soon if heavy rains continue, what is left on the stretch is sure to be washed away in the next monsoon. He said the loose soil caved in at Madenadu during the recent rain, and that the authorities woke up after the earth had caved in and initiated the work on strengthening the soil from further caving in. Saying that the The hillock has now developed cracks,” the shop owner at Jodupala fears that the entire hillock will be destroyed in the monsoon as no protective measures have been taken in the area so far.
If action on restoration work is not taken up soon, there are very good chances that the Sampaje Ghat will be closed again during the monsoon, said yet another person running a tea/snacks shop. “Just take one look at the condition of the hillocks besides the road and you agree with me. A year ago, the road was closed for three months and we had to sit at home without any income. That situation may continue this year as well,” the shopkeeper feared. The top layer of sandbags, placed to prevent caving in of the road at Katikeri, is also torn.
Sources reveal that the restoration works, though temporary, were taken up at a total cost of Rs 10 crore,and the NH department had sought Rs 47 crore to take up the pending works on the stretch. Since the amount still has not been released, the authorities have ensured that traffic will not hit during this monsoon. But you never know-if the Mother nature is harsh and strong, no human being can control it. It is also learnt that the NH division has requested Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Science Soil Engineering Department’s retired professor Prof B R Srinivas Murthy, Geo-technical Engineering Department’s Dr G L Shivakumar Babu and NITK, Surathkal to study on permanent restoration works on Sampaje and Shiradi Ghat Roads. The NH division has drafted a proposal worth Rs 500 crore. But nothing has been finalized so far.
Connectivity on this road is very important as the road is the main link between Dakshina Kannada, northern villages of Kodagu and Madikeri. And looking at the condition of the the Sampaje Ghat stretch affected with landslides, chances are that if heavy rains keeps pounding in the next coming days, the Ghat may be closed, and many residents in that area probably will have to relocate. Hope the concerned authorities come up with quick plans before major disaster takes place.
