Over the past few weeks heavy rains have lashed several parts of Karnataka, resulting in massive damage to the state’s infrastructure. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Minister of Public Works HD Revanna said that 110 km of national highways and 1,550 km of state highways have been damaged across the state resulting in a loss of Rs 487 crore.

“Of this, the damage on state highways alone amounts to Rs 430 crore. Roads in Kodagu, Mangaluru, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Kolar, Chikkaballapura and Bengaluru have suffered the brunt of rains,” HD Revanna said.

In northern Karnataka, state highways were damaged in Uttara Kannada, Haveri, Dharwad and Chitradurga, and the losses are pegged at Rs 60.83 crore.

“In the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur and Koppal also witnessed destruction of roads but on a much more minimal scale compared to the southern districts. Here, the losses are pegged at Rs 5.1 crore,” he added.

Across the state, 538 bridges have collapsed resulting in a loss of Rs 78.98 crore. Revanna also said that in Kodagu, the 32-km road to Sampaje was completely destroyed and reconstruction would take five to six months.

“As of now, no vehicular movements are seen on this road. Only after the district administration gives the go-ahead, the road will be opened,” he said.

The minister also stated that vehicular movement in Shiradi Ghat would not be possible over the next six-seven months. “The problem is that both landslides and flooding is happening at the same time. Most of the damaged roads fall under the state’s purview and it will take time to reconstruct them,” he said.

Revanna announced that four teams comprising 100 engineers have been formed to carry out road reconstruction works across the state.