Shoddy clearing of soil affects smooth flow of vehicles

The half-hearted work on clearing mounds of soil dumped on the road due to landslides in the hilly ranges of Chikkamagaluru is causing many hardships to vehicle users.

Travel on the narrow stretch has become a nightmare for vehicle users. Mounds of soil had blocked the stretch following landslides that took place two months ago.

The authorities had unscientifically cleared the mounds of soil in order to facilitate the movement of cars, jeeps and buses plying towards Baba Budan hills.

The number of tourists making a beeline to the Coffee land during weekend in order to enjoy nature’s beauty had increased two-fold.

According to statistics available at the forest check post at Chandradrona, 1902 vehicles (Oct 20) and 1998 vehicles (Oct 19) had travelled to the hilly ranges. Managing the traffic was thus a herculean task for the police personnel.

Due to the bottlenecks and potholes on the road at Kavigal Gandi check post, vehicles had remained stranded upto a two-kilometre stretch leading to the hilly ranges.

Jeep driver Krishna said, “A portion of the soil on the road is posing a hurdle to the smooth flow of traffic.”

A tourist car driver Rafiq said the density of vehicles on the stretch was unusually high this year due to fake messages on Neelakurinji flowers blossoming in the hill ranges once in 12 years going viral on social media.

PWD engineers assured that the mounds of soil will be cleared once the rain ended. With the countdown beginning for the Dattamala Abhiyana by Sri Rama Sene which witnesses a large number of devotees travelling to Bababudangiri, officials have to race against time, observed taxi drivers.

“Chandradrona hilly range is known for Shola forests. The heavy movement of vehicles is affecting the sensitive ecology. Many squirrels and rabbits are being crushed under the wheels of the speeding vehicles. The district administration should check the movement of vehicles to the hilly ranges,” urged environmentalists.