Landslide causes havoc in Aldur

Even after 20 days of incident, no official has visited the place

The villagers have expressed their grouse over the negligent attitude of the officials who have not visited their place even after 20 days of the incident.

The hillock (Balegudda) comes under a reserved forest in Arenur village of Basaravalli Gram Panchayat, beside the Aldur-Balehonnur main road. It is about 400 feet above the sea level.

The hillock, mostly covered by rocks, is said to be a habitation for tigers. One can also find a scattered forest on a part of the hillock. The landslide has occurred during the heavy downpour of ‘punarvasu’.

“It was raining heavily that night. I heard a big sound from the hillock side. I felt amazed when I saw the place next morning,” says Basavaraj, a farmer.

Some huge trees have fallen due to the landslide. Rocks of 6-8 feet circumference are seen scattered everywhere. However, not much damages have taken place to the farms or houses since they are a little away from the place of the incident.

However, the entire incident is beyond the logic of the innocent villagers. They can think about an ordinary landslide but they cannot imagine the source of a huge quantity of water that gushed into the village following the landslide.

Strange incident

“It is a barren hillock. There is no natural tank or some other source of water near the place of landslide. Then, how come such a forceful flood emerge washing away the plants and rocks,” ask the villagers.

Anxious by the incident, some villagers are also worried about an “impending” disaster. They have urged that the officials from the Mines and Geology Department should visit the place and investigate. However, when contacted, the staff at the department said they were unaware of the incident.