Mangaluru
Madikeri Ghat was unexpectedly closed by the district administrations of Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada around 8 PM on Thursday due to a hill collapse on the Shiradi Ghat of the Mangaluru-Bengaluru national highway. Police set up barricades near Madikeri Gen Kariappa Circle, halfway at Madenadu on the Ghat, and at the Sampaje check post, causing inconvenience to hundreds of vehicles, including those carrying women, children, and elderly passengers. Incessant rains further compounded the difficulties for motorists.
During midnight travel along the route, social worker Rasheed Vittal and his friend Aboobaker Puthu encountered the stranded vehicles. Vittal promptly raised the issue with legislative assembly speaker UT Khader, who contacted Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner MP Mullai Mugilan and Kodagu Superintendent of Police Ramarajan. Vittal conveyed the urgent situation on the ground, particularly concerning stranded women without access to facilities and the worsening conditions expected by morning. He highlighted the plight of emergency patients and essential goods vehicles bound for Bengaluru.
In response to Vittal’s report, officials swiftly evacuated all vehicles from Madenadu to Sampaje around 1:30 AM under police escort. They also facilitated safe passage for vehicles heading towards Madikeri from Sampaje. The prompt actions of Rasheed Vittal, Speaker UT Khader, Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner, and Kodagu Superintendent of Police brought relief to hundreds of stranded passengers in their vehicles.
