Mangaluru: About sixty two families of Devara Kolli village in Kodagu district who were living in temporary shelters here, have returned home after a week on Thursday.
Following the massive landslide at Jodupala in Kodagu district on August 17 which created havoc, the people of nearby villages including Devara Kolli were shifted to three temporary shelters. Devara Kolli is situated in the foothills of Sampaje Ghat near Jodupala and was not impacted much by the landslide. The people of this village were however shifted to temporary camps as precautionary measure.
Geological Survey of India(GSI) and State Disaster Management Authority officials who visited Jodupala and nearby areas, gave their nod to the district administration to allow the people of Devara Kolli to return to their houses. Based on their recommendations, about 62 families were allowed to return to their homes at Devara Kolli village on Thursday.
Of the 62 families who returned, 50 families were at the temporary shelter at Tekkila, 6 at Kallugundi (both in Dakshina Kannada district) and 6 families were at Sampaje (Kodagu district). As the landslide had swept away everything, the people had requested the district administration to provide basic rations and also some money before they returned home. "We have provided each family about 25 kg rice, sugar, new clothes, Rs 3,800 and water bottles from the stock which we had in the temporary camps," Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil told Deccan Chronicle.
Three teams have been formed by the Deputy Commissioner. One team will look into the repair of houses, another into communication needs and the third into the rehabilitation of those who are still in the camp. As people have lost their documents, the government has opened a temporary Aadhaar camp at Tekkila. Those who have Aadhaar numbers but lost the cards in the landslidew and floods, have been given new cards based on the biometric data they provide at the camp.
Meanwhile, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has commenced a mini bus service between Madikeri in Kodagu district and Sullia in Dakshina Kannada district on an alternative route via Karige-Bhagamandala. The direct route via NH 275 (Mani-Mysuru-Bengaluru) has been damaged due to landslides and so the KSRTC has decided to operate the services through Panathur-Karike and Bhagamandala.
Puttur division of KSRTC is operating the services from its depots at Madikeri and Sullia, said an official release.
Officials said that the service was started to help students and workers travelling between Sullia and Madikeri regularly. Of the 91 km stretch on the alternative route, 12 km passes through Kerala and regular buses cannot ply on the route given the terrain.
Three bus services were started on Thursday and two more would be added from Friday providing 28 trips in both directions.
