the goan I network
VALPOI
Traffic along the Goa-Belagavi road was paralysed for about 12 hours between Monday night and Tuesday noon, following a number of landslides on the Chorla Ghat.
Vehicles were stranded on the ghat right from 11:30 pm on Monday till the landslides were cleared at about 1 pm on Tuesday.
According to reports, heavy rains in the region had led to several landslides. The first landslide was reported at about 11.30 pm along the Goa-Karnataka Junction, paralysing traffic on both sides of the road.
Over the next few hours, four more landslides were reported in the area and several stranded motorists and commuters were left fuming over the delay by authorities in reaching the site and clearing the route.
With the Anmod Ghat closed for traffic due to ongoing repair work, the Goa-Belagavi road via Chorla Ghat has seen a sharp rise in traffic and the landslides disrupted this important route between Goa and Karnataka.
PWD workers and machinery reached the site at about 4 am and two JCB machines were seen undertaking cleaning of debris under the supervision of Valpoi PWD Junior Engineer Zilbarao Desai.
Continuous rains severely hampered work to clear the debris and the route was finally cleared for traffic by about 1 pm.
When contacted, Desai said two JCB machines had been pressed into service to clear the debris on Chorla Ghat.
“Single-lane traffic was permitted from both sides due to landslides at five locations on the ghat. The mud will be cleared by Wednesday evening,” said Desai.
Meanwhile, roads in several parts of Sattari taluka were submerged due to heavy rains. Traffic plying between Valpoi and Ponda via Ganjem was paralysed for nearly seven hours between 5 am and 1 pm on Tuesday as the road near Ganjem was flooded.
A road was also submerged at Sonal, paralysing traffic between Valpoi and Sonal.
The roof of the house owned by Biku Harijan at Khadki Sattari was blown away due to strong winds, while a tipper truck belonging to Ashfaq Khan was submerged in water after the vehicle was parked near his residence at Nanus.
