Daijiworld Media Network - Beltangady (MS)
Beltangady, Aug 20: Heavy traffic on Charmadi Ghat continued on Sunday, August 19 also and traffic jam was experienced on the morning for some time. Apart from this jam which affected vehicular movement for some time, the rest of the day was normal with vehicles moving slowly due to the potholes and low visibility due to fog.
The deputy commissioner has prohibited the movement of heavy vehicles on this ghat. Heavy vehicles are parked on the side of the road from Kakkinje of the taluk till Charmadi. The accusation is being heard that these vehicles are allowed to use the Charmadi Ghat in the night but police have denied these rumors.
Petroleum transport through pipeline stopped
As a precaution, petroleum transport was stopped as there was landslide near the pump house of the Bengaluru - Mangaluru petroleum product transport pipeline at Pilikala under Neriya village.
In the year 2008, there was a huge landslide near the same pump house. Now a gaping crack is noticed in the hill and the danger of landslide in the same fashion that occurred in 2008 might take place. The compound wall of the pump house is also damaged. Due to the hole, the pipeline appears to be twisted. Shivaprasad Ajila, PWD engineer of Beltangady visited the spot and conducted the inspection and instructed the concerned company to stop the transportation of petroleum through this line as a precautionary measure.
There is a crack of about 50 meters wide and one meter in depth. At present, the protection wall which is at the bottom of this hill is holding the slid mud. However, the protection wall may collapse at any time. If it collapses, then it will incur a damage of about Rs 50 crores. However, the temporary measure for this needs to be given by the concerned technological experts as per the information given by the PWD engineer.
"The landslide is recurring in this area. A few days ago, a house and the farmland got damaged due to the landslide. If the hill collapses, it will damage the pump house. Concerned officials have to look into this issue on a urgent basis and take necessary prevention," said Mohammed, president of Neriya gram panchayat.