Decision to cut hills at 90 degrees for road construction reason for landslide: CM Siddaramaiah

Hassan (Karnataka) [India], August 3 (ANI): The decision to cut hills at 90 degrees for road construction was the primary reason for landslide at the Shiradi Ghat, said Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday.

He also expressed shock and outrage over the incident and questioned the Regional Officer of the National Highways Authority about the road construction methods used.

The Chief Minister arrived at the scene by road with a team of officials and criticized the decision to cut hills at 90 degrees for road construction.

Chief Minister questioned Regional Officer of National Highways Authority over the recent landslide, criticizing the decision to cut hills at a 90-degree angle to save costs. “Isn’t this unscientific?” he asked.

Siddaramaiah suggested that cutting hills at a 30 to 45-degree angle and building a retaining wall could have prevented the landslide. He also demanded to know why no soil quality tests or safety measures were conducted before starting the work.

Addressing the mediapersons, Siddaramaiah said, “…Hassan received 65 percent more rainfall, Sakleshpur received 12 percent more rainfall and Shirdi Ghat also received more rainfall, that’s why the number of landslides increased. I suggested NHAI to acquire more land and not cut the road at 90 degrees. I will ask the Chief Secretary to write a letter and I will also meet Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and talk to him…”

Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh briefed him on road work progress, stating that 35 km of the 45 km highway project had been completed. Still, no safety measures were implemented based on soil quality tests.

After inspecting the landslide site covered in knee-deep mud, the Chief Minister discussed the situation with the SDRF team engaged in the mud clearance operation.

The Chief Minister directed Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh to write a letter to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari about the overall situation.

Hassan District In-charge Minister Rajanna, MLA Shivlinge Gowda, MP Shreyas Patel, Public Works Department Secretary Satynarayan, and a team of senior officials were present.