Hassan: With as many as 30 landslides bringing down boulders and trees on to the tracks over the last few days, the South Western Railway has cancelled all trains operating in the Sakleshpur Ghat section for the weekend and intends to assess the situation once again before resuming services.
Seeing the many landslips in the region, a section of the Western Ghats from Donigal to Subramanaya Road Station has been declared vulnerable to them by the authorities concerned.
The route links Bengaluru and Mangaluru via Sakleshpur in Hassan.
The South Western Railway, Mysuru division, has also evacuated its staff and labourers clearing debris on the route and lodged them at the Subramanya Road Station, pending a green signal from the state government to resume work on clearing the boulders from the tracks.
A landslip in the ghats desposited debris and boulders on the tracks between the Shirivagilu and Subramanya Road Stations on August 6 and another landslip deposited more debris on the tracks between Sakleshpur and Subramanya Road Stations on August 8. Meanwhile, a team of 34 army officers has been deputed to Chikkamagaluru to rescue people stranded due to rain and landslides in isolated areas of the district.
In Shivamogga, deputy commissioner K.B. Shivakumar said a team of the National Disaster Relief Force had arrived in the district to tackle flood-relief operations in addition to 60 Quick Response personnel from Ballari and swimmers and boats from Davangere and Haveri districts.
