NDRF team visits Malethirike Hills

Madikeri: A 25-member team of the National Disaster Response Force visited the landslide-prone area of Malethirike Betta in Virajpet town on Sunday. The team is in the district to carry out rescue operations during the monsoon, and carried out an inspection of the vulnerable hill at Virajpet. The Malethirike Betta in Virajpet developed a crack due to incessant rain in August last year. Residents staying in this vulnerable area were shifted to a secure relief centre last year, and officials from the Geological Survey of India had declared this hill to be vulnerable. However, nearly a year after the crack appeared on the hill, no relief work has been carried out, even as residents stay put atop and around the hill.
Observing the cracked area of the hill, the head of the NDRF team, Amulya Vasudev, said, “The crack on the hill is nearly 60ft deep. This place is highly vulnerable, and a retaining wall should be built in the surrounding area. It is necessary that residents residing in this vulnerable area are shifted elsewhere, in case of incessant rain this monsoon.”