Mangaluru: Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker U T Khader said that he has directed the Public Works Department (PWD) Secretary, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials and National Highway (NH) officials to inspect the Charmadi Ghat, Shiradi Ghat and Mangaluru - Moodbidri National Highway affected by the landslides.
Speaking to media, after meeting PWD Secretary Umashankar, he said that the landslides have occurred at Kethikal on Mangaluru - Moodbidri highway.
Huge potholes on National Highway 75 have been posing inconvenience to the motorists. With rainwater getting accumulated on the potholes, the vehicle owners are unable to judge the depth of the potholes and end up in meeting with accidents. The restoration works should be taken up at the earliest.
The work on the stretch from Marnahalli to Sakleshpur on NH 75 should be completed at the earliest for the flow of vehicles, he said.
He said that Deputy Commissioners from Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, and Kodagu should work in coordination. Whenever landslides occur on the highways passing through these districts, the entire stretch of the highway should not be closed for vehicular movement.
The vehicular movement should be banned only if there is any major damage on the stretch and it should be communicated to the DCs of all the three districts, he said.
A team of workers should be placed for every 10-km stretch to clear the mounds of soil from the landslides as and when mudslip is experienced in a particular location. Landslide prone areas should be monitored closely by the officials for two to three months during the monsoon, to avert any major mishaps, said the Speaker.
He said the officials should take up preventive measures in landslide prone areas. The water flow should be channelised from the hilly ranges to prevent any further mudslip, said the Speaker.
Funds for coast
Further, Khader said the government should include the work on construction of retaining walls after hill cutting to facilitate the road work, while releasing funds for roads in Dakshina Kannada. In other parts of the state, the roads are straight and there is no issue of hill cutting and building retaining walls. “We need to emulate the model followed in Northeastern states where they have special SR rates.
Constitution - Preamble
Large plaques containing the Constitution's Preamble inside the Assembly have been installed. “On the similar lines, I will ask the government to install Preamble in the houses of ministers, MLA’s houses, all the government offices from gram panchayats, and the offices of the NGO’s. The Preamble of the Constitution should be known to all by heart.”
On Tulu language, he said there is a need to introduce Tulu language, culture and tradition to the people outside the district. The Academy should take a lead in it.