Karnataka rain: Heavy vehicles banned at Agumbe ghat till September 15

  Due to cracks and potential accidents caused by heavy rainfall, Agumbe ghat in Karnataka's Shivamogga district banned heavy vehicle entry until September 15. Light vehicles can use alternate routes for travel.

The entry of heavy vehicles has been banned at Agumbe Ghat in the Shivamogga district of Karnataka till September 15 after cracks were seen on the Ghat road's curves number 6, 7 and 11. According to Deputy Commissioner Dr Selvamani, the hefty rainfall in the region has led the ghat to be prone to small accidents and the roads can crash due to the movement of heavy vehicles.

Further, the rainfall has caused the barrier to collapse and can cause potential accidents in the ghat. Therefore, to prevent any further mishaps, the Deputy Commissioner ordered the vehicles to go via the alternate route instead of National Highway 169A Theerthahalli-Malpe road.

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The ghat has been cleared for light vehicles and heavy vehicles such as lorries, trucks and buses are directed to two alternate routes for travelling from July 27 to September 15. The vehicles moving towards Udupi, from Theerthahalli are directed to use these two routes and avoid the Agumbe ghat.

The alternate routes include Theerthahall-Agumbe-Sringeri-Malaghat-Karkala-Udupi and the second alternate route is Theerthahlli- Mastikatte-Siddapura-Kundapura-Udupi.

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Meanwhile, Udupi DC Dr K Vidyakumari also ordered heavy vehicles to avoid Agumbe ghat until September 15, while the rainfall recedes in the region. The Agumbe ghat has been prone to petty accidents along the route due to road crashes and cracks on the road.

The region is known as Karnataka’s Cherrapunji as it gets the highest rainfall in the state. The curves and hairpin bend in the ghat make it very dangerous for heavy vehicles as well as light vehicles to travel in the ghat. 

Therefore, the lorries, trucks and buses are directed towards other routes, Theerthahalli-Sringeri-Malaghat-Karkala-Udupi and Theerthahalli-Mastikatte-Siddapura-Kundapura-Udupi.