SWR Mysuru division hopes to restore service on Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road line by August 23

Mysuru: To say that it has been a hectic week for the officials of the South Western Railway ( SWR ), Mysuru division would be an understatement of no mean proportion. From boulders rolling down to land on railway tracks to landslides bringing services to an unscheduled halt, the officials and personnel have had their hands full since the beginning of August.

However, the situation got out of hand between August 5 and 10 when the officials were flooded with 40 complaints – all of which were reported from the 45km-stretch between Sakleshpur in Hassan and the Subrahmanya Road station in Dakshina Kannada.

The SWR officials, however, are confident of restoring services on all the lines by August 23. Meanwhile, trains were operated between Hassan and Sakleshpur on Monday.

Divisional manager for SWR Mysuru Aparna Garg said that the situation was significantly worse in 2018. Aprna has visited the affected areas, and taken stock of the extent of damage. She has visited the Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road line twice in the past week. In fact, SWR general manager AK Singh too paid a visit to the flood-hit areas to review ongoing work.

Aparna said that debris had been cleared along the Yadakumari section. “But the problem is much more severe along the embankment of Sakleshpur, where erosion has been reported. We have had a major landslip, and the embankment is eroded. The chief track engineer visited the spot and took stock of how the damaged portions are being set right,” said Aparna, emphasising the need for trains to be doubly cautious during journeys at night.

SWR officials said that 11 excavating machines had been pressed into service.

‘Yettinahole project to blame’

Residents in Hassan and Dakshina Kannada, meanwhile, are convinced that ongoing work on the Yettinahole project, which was conceived to divert water from the Netravathi River to the drought-prone areas in districts surrounding Bengaluru, has resulted in the calamity. “Civic projects are being conceived, and executed with no respect for the environment. The eco-sensitive Shiradi Ghats have been destroyed leading to landslides,” said Sakleshpur resident Girish Kumar.

Meanwhile, the stretch of Shiradi Ghat Road connecting the coastal districts of the state with Bengaluru and Hassan, was closed to vehicular movement on Monday night. “We are allowing traffic during the day, but prohibiting travel after dusk as a precautionary measure,” said Hassan police.

On the other hand, rainfall in Hassan has reduced significantly, thereby resulting in the waters submerging the district receding. Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre data indicates that Sakleshpur received 57mm rain on Monday, while Belur received 24mm.