IIT-B expert team will inspect Ketthikal hillock to suggest measures for landslip prevention along NH 169: Dakshina Kannada DC
The Hindu
An expert team from the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) will visit the landslip-prone Ketthikal hillock near Vamanjoor, where the Mangaluru-Solapur NH 169 is being widened into four lanes, next week, said Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner M.P. Mullai Muhilan here on Monday.
An expert team from the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) will visit the landslip-prone Ketthikal hillock near Vamanjoor, where the Mangaluru-Solapur NH 169 is being widened into four lanes, next week, said Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner M.P. Mullai Muhilan here on Monday.
Mr. Muhilan told reporters that he along with other senior officials visited the Ketthikal hilltop on Sunday where a wet well of the Mangaluru City Corporation’s sewage network was located. There was water seepage through the hillock earlier too, but the quantum has increased following sporadic incidents of minor landslips during this monsoon, he said.
On Monday, the DC took Principal Secretary to Government (Public Works Department) S. Selva Kumar and other senior officials to Ketthikal and other landslip-prone spots in the district.
Mr. Muhilan said the IIT-B team would inspect the hillock and suggest measures to be taken by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for preventing further landslips after a thorough study.
Residents around Ketthikal hillock and road users had been airing their concern over the possible landslips in the region ever since the beginning of the monsoon. Rainwater was flowing down the hillock dislodging mounds of earth while the highway under widening faced the threat of landslips.
The Principal Secretary was in the district in view of frequent landslips being reported from many parts, particularly where highway widening works were going on, he said.
After visiting Ketthikal, Mr. Selva Kumar was taken to other areas, including Bantwal-Charmadi stretch of Mangaluru-Tumakuru NH 73 that was being widened by the NH Division of the PWD; the B.C. Road-Adda Hole stretch of Mangaluru-Bengaluru NH 75, including Kalladka, Mani, Uppinangady and Nellyadi and its stretch between Maranahalli and Sakleshpur in Hassan district, the DC said.
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