In the wake of frequent landslips reported in Malnad region owing to heavy rain, the district administration has banned movement of heavy vehicles along Balebare Ghat, considered as an important link between Malnad and coastal Karnataka, as a precautionary measure.
Balebare Ghat is part of State Highway-52 that connects Tirthahalli in Shivamogga district with Kundapur in Udupi district. After the closure of Shiradi Ghat for traffic, the vehicular density on SH-52 had enhanced. Landslips were reported near Balebare Ghat owing to heavy rain in the second week of August. In the wake of these developments, a team of engineers from Public Works Department had studied traffic flow on this stretch. The team found that heavy rain had enhanced the groundwater table here and the sub-grade soil had become weak owing to continuous percolation of water. These conditions had made the stretch vulnerable to landslips. It was found that the road surface here cannot handle continuous movement of heavy vehicles. The team had come to the conclusion that movement of heavy vehicles from 20th to 43rd-km stretch of SH-52 that comprises Balebare Ghat should be banned to ensure safety of the road.
The PWD team had submitted a report to K.A. Dayananda, Shivamogga Deputy Commissioner, on August 20. Based on the report, Mr. Dayananda issued a notification on Tuesday banning the movement of heavy vehicles on this stretch till further orders by invoking the Central Motor Vehicles Act and Karnataka Motor Vehicles Rules.
According to the notification, ban has been enforced on plying of ship cargo containers, bullet tankers, long chassis vehicles, multi-axle trucks and heavy commercial vehicles on this stretch. There are no restrictions on movement of buses, cars, vans and two-wheelers.
Mr. Dayananda has also directed the Superintendent of Police of Shivamogga to depute necessary personnel to enforce the ban order and to install barricades and sign boards there.