15 days after landslide cuts off village in Uttara Kannada district, restoration works begin

Hubballi: After being cut-off from the mainland for over a fortnight and being without electricity for nearly a month, the residents of Sulgeri village near Kadra reservoir in Uttara Kannada district now have a renewed hope as the district administration has given a green signal to clear debris of the landslide near Balemane on Kadra- Kodasalli Road.

On July 2, a major landslide stuck the region resulting in Sulgeri village being completely cut-off. The road is the only connectivity for the 34 families living in that village. The landslide took place on the right bank of the Kadra backwaters.

While locals blame the district administration and Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) for keeping them in ‘darkness’ for nearly, 15 days, Uttara Kannada Deputy Commission K Lakshmi Priya said the administration was not in a position to take up clearance of debris as the area was susceptible for further landslides following heavy rainfall the region was receiving.

“Even the Geological Survey of India officials had advised against taking up rescue work in the initial days as they expected the loose earth to cave following excess rain,” she said, adding that as soon as the GSI officials conducted a survey and gave their consent for clearing debris the administration has given permission.

With two earthmovers the KPCL, which manages the road, has started clearing the debris on Wednesday. Officials say it would take them another three-four days to open the road for use.

Chain reaction

Nagaraj Naik, a resident of Sulgeri village, said the village is in the darkness for over a month now and for the last 15 days they have been cut-off from Kadra, the nearest town.

“Even on two wheelers we are not been able to go out of the village. The kerosene stock we had is getting exhausted and every night we are forced to do our activities under the candle,” he said and added even the ration is getting empty as the villagers could not collect this month’s supplies from Kadra.

KPCL Executive Engineer Shankar Kalgeri said they could not take up clearing of road as deputy commissioner had issued orders against movement of heavy vehicles in the area.

“On Tuesday the DC held a district disaster management authority meeting and gave permission to take up works. We have deployed two earth movers and given the large quantity of earth that has caved in, we need at least three days to clear the road,” he said.

Roshani Pednekar, HESCom Executive Engineer, Karwar, said her team is ready to replace the eight electric poles that was damaged in the landslide. However, to do so we need to take our equipment and tractor to the spot. Unless the road gets clear we will not be able to repair the lines, she said.

She blamed the residents of a village next to Sulgeri, who are opposing the laying of power lines through their fields, for the month long no power supply to Balemane and Sulgeri. “Our staff were roughed up by the villagers. As soon as we get an opportunity to take our equipments we will fix the power connection to the village,” she said.