No permanent restoration works taken up at Sampaje Ghat

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 that shook the region last year.

The restoration works, taken up after a series of landslides at 14 places from Jodupala to Madikeri, were all temporary and focussed just at facilitating the movement of vehicles.

“No permanent restoration works have been taken up so far due to the tug-of-war between the Central and the State governments,” residents charged.

The work on stormwater 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.

“What is left on the stretch is sure to be washed away in the next monsoon,” Kishan of Madenadu said.

He said the loose soil caved in at Madenadu during the recent rain. “The authorities woke up after the earth had caved in and initiated the work on strengthening the soil from further caving in. The hillock has now developed cracks,” Kishan said.

Kunhappa 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.

A shopkeeper at Katikeri is sure that the Sampaje Ghat will be closed again during the monsoon.

“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 torn.

Public Works Department’s National Highway (NH) Division chief engineer
Ganesh said, “The restoration works, though temporary, were taken up at a total cost of Rs 10 crore. We had sought Rs 47 crore to take up the pending works on the stretch. The amount still has not been released. We will ensure that traffic is not hit during this monsoon”.

The NH division has requested Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Science Soil Engineering Department’s retired professor Prof B R Srinivas Murthy, Geotechnical 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 finalised so far.

A source said, “We have even proposed soil nailing, gabion wall and micro filling technology, to check landslides on Shiradi and Sampaje Ghats. But no work has been finalised so far”.