Madikeri/Mangalore, August 5, 2013Movement of vehicles has come to a standstill on the Mangalore-Mysore State highway as cracks surfaced at Koinadu on the Sullia-Madikeri stretch due to incessant rainfall on Monday.
Heavy seepage of water into the ground in the wake of rainfall in the district has resulted in the cracks. The road had developed cracks last week and the movement of vehicles was banned. The road was reopened for traffic later. With cracks resurfacing, traffic has been banned again.
The cracks are four to five feet long and if the rains continue to lash the district, there are possibilities of mudslide on the road.
Additional Deputy Commissioner G Prabhu said Kodagu district had received 260 cm of rain. As a result, mudslides and cracks on the roads are a common feature. As alternatives, users of the Madikeri-Sullia road can use the Madikeri-Bhagamandala-Karike-Sullia route (50 km more) or the Madikeri-Somwarpet-Shanivarasanthe-Sakleshpur-Gundya-Subramanya-Sullia (100 km more) route.
The district administration has directed the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited to submit a report on ways to repair the road. About 350 houses have been damaged in the district in rain-related incidents since January.
The body of an unidentified woman was found floating in the river near Doddajaddu in Siddapur village of Kundapur taluk. The deceased is Minka Poojarthy from Keremulle in Hosangadi village, who had gone missing on August 2.
