Hassan district officials issued orders prohibiting the movement of vehicles on the Shiradi Ghat stretch of NH-75, connecting Bengaluru and Mangaluru on Friday. District officials, who had earlier only restricted traffic at night in the ghat section, prohibited all vehicles from moving in the ghat and suggested alternate routes through Charmadi Ghat and Madikeri to reach Mangaluru.
A landslide had occurred in the Donigal stretch of the Shiradi Ghat on Thursday, following incessant rains in the Malnad region of Karnataka. The Shiradi Ghat is among three main link roads connecting Bengaluru and Mangaluru with the others being the Charmadi Ghat and the Madikeri route. Another ghat section - Agumbe Ghat - which connects Shivamogga and Udupi was closed earlier in the week, following a landslide near the third hairpin bend. There was also a minor landslip reported in Charmadi Ghat on Thursday, but the mud was cleared immediately using earthmovers.
Heavy rains in the last two weeks disrupted daily life in coastal and Malnad districts of Karnataka, as well as parts of northern Karnataka. An orange warning remains in place in Shivamogga, Kodagu, and Chikkamagaluru districts of the state, while a yellow warning is in place in Hassan district. The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) forecasted widespread moderate to very heavy rains in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada for Saturday.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on July 13 had said that the rains have killed 32 people in the state and injured 34 more. He had also ordered the release of Rs 500 crore for restoring basic amenities and infrastructure in rain-hit districts. The heavy rains have caused several rivers, such as the Tungabhadra and Cauvery, to swell, causing floods in the nearby regions. Following this, many historical memorials have submerged under the water. Some of these include the bridge near the Tungabhadra river built during the time of Vijayanagar Kingdom, Purandar Mantap, Vidhi Vidhana Mantap, Rama Lakshmana temple and the Chakrathirtha bathing zone.