Keonjhar: Vehicular traffic was severely hit along Judia ghat on National Highway49 in Keonjhar district after two large rocks rolled down the hill and blocked the highway Thursday following incessant rainfall over the last few days.
However, no casualty was reported as no vehicle was passing on the route during the period. Reports said that the rocks weighed at least 10 tonne each. After the landslide, plying of vehicles on the left lane of the ghat road was disrupted for a few hours.
On being informed, officials rushed to the spot and removed the rocks to the roadside following which traffic resumed on the ghat road. Locals alleged that landslides are a frequent occurrence during the rainy season but the administration is yet to find a permanent solution to the lingering problem.
Moreover, the administration is so indifferent that it has not even put up an information plaque warning commuters to remain cautious of landslides while travelling by the route. They claimed that thousands of vehicles moving on the highway climbed the ghat road during their travel where the landslide has taken place. Heavy vehicles adopt a uniform speed while climbing the highway. The ghat road on the highway connecting Kolkata with Mumbai is daily taken by thousands of heavy vehicles such as cargo-laden trucks, trailers, and passenger buses, they said.
Locals apprehended severe loss of lives and properties as the possibility of a major mishap cannot be ruled out if a landslide occurs at any point in time on the highway. The administration has covered the bottom of the hill with a barbed net to prevent landslide but these nets have failed to be of any use after they were destroyed within a few days of their installation. Locals demanded to increase the height of the concrete guard wall and further strengthen it so that the rocks rolling down the hill will hit the wall and stop at the site. Notably, the hill was cut off to make way for the expansion of the highway