The Hindu : Kerala News : Crack on road: experts rule out vehicular traffic

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Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007
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Kerala

Crack on road: experts rule out vehicular traffic

Staff Reporter

The 36-cm wide gap on Ghat Road has increased to 56 cm

On road work: Geological Survey of India Director M.P. Muraleedharan explaining the difficulties in restoring the Vazhikkadavu-Nadukani Ghat Road at the Collectorate in Malappuram on Tuesday.

MALAPPURAM: Restoration of vehicular traffic along the Vazhikkadavu-Nadukani Ghat Road, which developed a crack a month ago, appeared remote on Tuesday with the Geological Survey of India (GSI) authorities warning against further movement of the land.

The road was closed to vehicular traffic when it developed a 36-cm-wide gap. In less than a month, the gap has increased to 56 cm, confirming the findings of geologists that the land was moving.

A presentation made by a GSI team headed by M.P. Muraleedharan, State director, at the Collectorate here explained the reasons that led to the rupture. Senior geologist C. Muraleedharan pointed out that excess and unnatural flow of water destabilised the area through which the Ghat road passes.

He said a 1970 map of the GSI showed the existence of a stream at the site where the crack developed. That stream was missing in the 2000 map, which showed a culvert to channelise the water.

He said the area had undergone a similar landslip after 1970, and the Ghat Road was constructed on top of the debris. The area had witnessed more than 3,600 mm rain this year alone, the largest rainfall in 10 years.

“The whole mass is moving slowly,” he told an audience comprising government officials, people’s representatives and the media.

Some solutions

Paramount among the remedial measures the GSI team suggested was diverting water through other routes without allowing it to pass through the affected area. Construction of two water collection sumps above and below the affected area, construction of a strong retention wall anchoring to the bedrock in the upper and lower sides of the road, and redesigning the road by anchoring it to the bedrock were some remedial measures the GSI team suggested.

However, the team leader warned that a permanent solution would not be possible in the immediate future. “It will take a long time,” he said.

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