With most routes connecting Bengaluru to coastal Karnataka disrupted by waterlogging and landslides, airline prices for direct flights from Bengaluru to Mangaluru increased to more than Rs 15,000 on Sunday.
The demand for flight tickets between the two cities shot up after buses plying between Bengaluru and the coastal Karnataka districts of Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada were cancelled on Friday night. Trains plying between Mangaluru and Bengaluru are also not available due to landslides bringing mud on the tracks in multiple spots on the Sakleshpura-Subramanya section.
Flights from Mangaluru to Bengaluru are also highly priced due to the lack of connectivity between the two cities. Flights from Mangaluru to Bengaluru priced at the range of Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 10,000. Flights between the two cities usually cost between Rs 1,900 and 2,500 and sometimes extend up to Rs. 5000.
Apart from a few private bus services, all other buses from Bengaluru to coastal areas were cancelled on Friday night leaving passengers stranded in Bengaluru.
According to an official at the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), the buses were cancelled after landslides in Charmadi Ghat and Shiradi Ghat, two major roads in the Malnad region connecting Bengaluru and the coastal districts, prompted officials to block the road. Waterlogging near Kushalnagar in Kodagu ruled out the option of reaching Mangaluru via Madikeri. A landslide near Mavinagundi (near Jog Falls), meanwhile, blocked routes leading to Honnavara in Uttara Kannada.
This left Agumbe as the only major ghat section open that connects Bengaluru and coastal Karnataka. In Agumbe, trees were seen fallen on the road and officials are on alert to ensure that the road remains open. A minor ghat section – Hulikal Ghat – is also open and connects Shivamogga to Kundapura in Udupi via the Maskikatte-Siddapura route.
People travelling from Bengaluru to coastal Karnataka on Saturday had to travel to Shivamogga and then switch to a bus travelling via Agumbe to Udupi.
“The entire journey took up to 15 hours because there was waterlogging on the roads in Theerthahalli, the bus had to be diverted and we came via a longer route,” said Radhakrishna Rao, who was travelling in a private bus from Shivamogga to Udupi. Travellers on the route reported that bus ticket prices were increased by Rs 50 due to the longer route taken to travel to Udupi and Mangaluru.
Landslides have occurred in many places in Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Chikkamgaluru and Uttara Kannada districts due to heavy rains and connectivity in 136 major roads in the state have been affected.