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During his visit, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah inspected several landslide-prone areas in Shiradi Ghat and gathered detailed information from officials. He addressed the public at Doddathpalu and stated that the soil on the upper part of National Highway 75 has loosened, leading to frequent landslides.
He attributed the main cause of these landslides to unscientific construction practices, where hills were cut at a 90-degree angle for road construction. He pointed out that 35 km of the 45 km highway construction has been completed, but no retaining walls have been built, and soil quality tests have not been conducted to implement appropriate safety measures.
“The decision to acquire less land to save money and subsequently cutting hills at a 90-degree angle is unscientific. If the hills were cut at an angle of 30 to 45 degrees and retaining walls were built, the landslides could have been prevented. Was the soil quality tested before commencing the work? If tested, appropriate precautionary measures should have been taken,” he stated.
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“The unscientific construction work at Shiradi Ghat is causing landslides. I will inform the Union Minister of the local residents’ opinions. The Sakaleshpur region has received 65% more rainfall than usual. I will write to the central government to take action to rectify the highway at Shiradi Ghat. During my visit to Delhi, I will also bring this issue to the attention of Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari,” he added.
Due to the landslides at Shiradi Ghat, vehicular movement has been disrupted. “We have deployed one SDRF team here and will ensure additional safety measures if required. We will gather opinions on why these landslides are occurring and take necessary actions,” he said.