Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Jan 14: As part of the ongoing struggle by Ashwini and her family seeking justice in the Manjanady Koppalakodi landslide case, a technical investigation was initiated on Tuesday by a team of officials from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK).
The landslide had claimed the lives of two children and their grandmother, while Ashwini lost both her legs and suffered permanent disability. The NITK team, along with district panchayat engineers and Manjanady gram panchayat staff, visited the site and collected details related to the incident.
Two associate professors from the civil engineering department of NITK, Dr Palanisamy T and Dr Srivalsa Kolathayar, conducted the inspection and gathered reports. Officials stated that the devastating landslide at Manjanady was not merely a natural disaster, but the result of administrative failure at the local gram panchayat level. In the tragedy, two innocent children and their grandmother lost their lives, while the mother lost both legs and the grandfather lost one leg, resulting in permanent disability.
Several serious questions have been raised in connection with the incident. Who granted permission to construct a road close to a 70-foot hill that had been identified as a hazardous zone? Why did the gram panchayat fail to take action against violations of land-use regulations, including illegal drainage work, soil excavation and alteration of land structure? How was permission granted by the local engineering department to cut a 70-foot hill and build a road without conducting soil testing? Despite local warnings and public complaints during the monsoon season, why did the district administration and the gram panchayat engineering wing remain silent? Did the district disaster management authority conduct a pre-monsoon survey, and if so, where is the report?
To find answers to these questions, the Karnataka government has entrusted the investigation to the National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal.
Following government orders, the district administration is also likely to conduct a high-level inquiry into the deaths of the children. It has been emphasised that for justice to be delivered, scientific facts must be brought to light, and a scientific investigation is crucial to uncover the truth.