Heavy Trucks are on their way of taking another toll?

Sand diggers from the Uppoor river have reported considerable damage to the Uppoor-Kallianpur bridge on NH 17  and the authorities have confirmed it. The cement plastering of the bridge is came off in many places revealing the iron rods that support the structure. The cement  and the pieces of the bridge are falling off ,when the heavy Manganese Trucks are moving on the bridge.

Heavy Manganese trucks laden with 22-23 tons of ore instead of the regular 16 tons allowed are said to be the culprits damaging the roads and bridges are banned from the roads in Udupi district and heavily loaded trucks are stopped near Aakashvani , Brahmavar since Saturday 7^th August .

Caravans of trucks are seen stopped by the side of NH17 from Gundmi till Brahmavar and  Gandhi Maidan is also full of Manganese trucks. Later the trucks were allowed to move with a promise that no more heavy trucks are allowed on the highway.

Meanwhile Mr. Sudarshan , Engineer and Mr. C. S. Chandrashekar , Asst. Engineer from Government owned Toarsteel Research Foundation of India, Bangalore visited the Barkur bridge. Soon a detailed report will be submitted , as they told the reporters.

News and Fotografs : Ronald Andrade, Alina Lab, Sasthan.

Floods create havoc at Barkur.

There were no major  floods at Barkur and the surroundings for the last 4 rainy seasons. Last week  heavy rains combined with gushing winds brought flash floods to low lying areas creating havoc  disrupting the normal life. By Thursday , Hosala Bail was fully under water and road connecting Nagarmutt was disconnected from the rest if the world.  People were seen using the wooden boats to the daily routines and schools declared holiday. Gushing winds uprooted the trees and Electrical poles and Barkur was left without electricity for four days thereafter.

Parish Priest’s home is damaged by an uprooted tree. The Agashi tree fell on the building and damaged the lower portion and the kitchen.  Luckily nobody was hurt.

Water receded the following day and everything was back to normal. Our friend Mr. Ronald Andrade managed to send in some photographs which are published here.

Alternative route for Barkurians

An alternative route via Barkur , Saibarkatte and Kota is suggested  by  D.C. S. R. Umashankar  in an announcement here today,  to the vehicular traffic  till the repair of the Barkur Bridge which is damaged due to the heavily loaded trucks.

The vehicles to reach Brahmavar via Saibarkatte, Kota on NH 17 and vehicles from Kokkarne are to reach Brahmavar , via Kokkarne, Karje and Pethri.

It is also said that once the Saligrama-Karkada-Kavadi road is repaired, people can avail the road to reach NH 17 through Yadthadi-Kavadi route.  The DC announced this on the basis of the report submitted by Mr. Rajagopal , Executive Engineer, PWD.

More news on the Barkur Bridge

The damaged Barkur Bridge may take well over 6 months its said. Out of the 8 spans , second from the Barkur end is severely damaged and considerable damage is observed in the second span from the Brahmavar end. More cracks are observed all over the bridge and all the heavy traffic is diverted from the bridge and only two wheelers are allowed to pass through at present.

In an interesting development, all the loaded heavy trucks were  stopped from passing through the Mabukal Bridge on NH 17 yesterday in protest. The Akhil Bharathiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) organised the “Rastha Roko” with the co-operation from the local people.

Mr. Jayaprakash Hegde, MLA has assured that the repair work on the bridge will be taken on a war footage and asked the public to cooperate with the officials involved.

SHOCKING NEWS – BARKUR BRIDGE ON ITS WAY TO COLLAPSE…..!

On 29/07/04, at 6.00 p.m. two locals observed that, the Brahmmavar – 230 meters long Barkur Bridge over River Sita, opened for public use in 1972, now showing signs of concrete falling at first span from Barkur end. The trucks carrying heavy loads of Manganese ore 40 to 50 tons, seems to be one among many reasons.

It is likely that once damage is evaluated, the most important road will be closed for couple of months and Barker will be isolated, from links to Udupi-Brahmmavar.

Udupi District D.C.Mr S.R.Umashanker will visit the site today, along with RTO officials to decide the future course of action.

More details follow….

News sent by Secretary AYA – Nagermutt- Barkur.

The Accident at  Saligrama

The accident at Saligrama on 21^st July near Mayur Studio that claimed five lives has unfolded a heart-reding story of a family from Todubalu in Payyanur, Kerala. The only survivor, Sony Dingo (25), now under treatment at N R Acharya Hospital, Koteshwar near here, may be able to give the correct picture of what happened after he recovers from the trauma.

Although the initial police reports said the car was returning home from Kollur, now they have clarified that the family was on its way back from Goa. Baby and Molly's only issue, Tissimol, was suffering from brain cancer. They had taken her to Goa a week ago. A neighbour, Rony Mathew and brother-in-law Louis Mathew and Sony Dingo, son of Dr Padmanabhan from the close circle, also joined the ill-fated journey.

Rony Mathew's brother, Sony Mathew, who arrived from Kerala to claim the bodies, narrated the sad details of the family. Tissimol's story is really heart-rending.

An active girl since her childhood, a tumour in the brain is said to have stunted her growth. Although she was 19, she looked like a small girl, because of this growth impediment.

The parents had been running from pillar to post to save her life and finally landed in Goa for the treatment, with bright hopes of survival. she was also to be referred to a noted hospital in Bagalkot. With assurances of survival of their child, they were returning home with a sense of relief, only to be snatched the cruel jaws of death, along with other relatives.

The family travelled in their own vehicle. After receiving treatment for Tissimol in Goa, they visited shrines and prayerhouses on the way to pray for the girl's recovery. On their way back, at Saligrama, they turned their vehicle to turn to the Mantap ice-cream parlour, when the speeding tanker hit the Omni car head-on.

The driver and cleaner of the tanker fled the place at once. The account given by one of the eyewitnesses, Chandra, suggested that the person who was driving the car might not have taken enough precaution before turning away from the road towards the restaurant, while another said it was the tanker driver's fault. No version will be in a position to bring back the lives of the five who died in tragic circumstances. 

News courtecy:www.daijiworld.com   Fotografs: Rony Andrade, Barkur