Bengaluru-Mangaluru connectivity nearly lost as rains pound coastal Karnataka

Landslip caused by heavy rains impacted vehicular movement on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru National Highway.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

As rains continued to pound several parts of coastal Karnataka, road connectivity between Mangaluru and Bengaluru was almost entirely disrupted on Thursday, following complete closure of the Shiradi Ghat stretch of NH 75 and the night-time closure of Sampaje Ghat stretch of NH 275, following landslips. Heavy vehicles, meanwhile, have been banned on the Charmadi Ghat stretch of NH 73.

In Uttara Kannada, rains continued to slow down work to clear mud on NH 66 near Shirur, where a landslip occurred on Monday, and the district administration has confirmed that 10 persons went missing. Officials said they recovered the bodies of Avantika Naik, a young girl, and Chinnan, a tanker driver, from Tamil Nadu, on Thursday. With these, six bodies have been recovered so far at this landslip site.

Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner said that the GPS location of a lorry, which was transporting timber from Joida to Kerala, had been traced near the landslip site, and it was suspected that the vehicle was buried under the mud.