Movement of Mini Buses Permitted on Agumbe Ghat: Ban on Heavy Vehicles to Continue Till August 31

Udupi Deputy Commissioner M. Kurma Rao has issued orders allowing operation of mini buses through Agumbe Ghat while continuing the ban on movement of other heavy vehicles till August 31. In his order issued under the Motor Vehicles Act the DC said the administration had restricted movement of all heavy vehicles from July 10 following a major landslip between hairpin bends 11 and 10 till July 31. Only light motor vehicles were allowed to ply via Agumbe Ghat since then.

The National Highways Division of the Karnataka Public Works Department has reported to him that improvement works were still going on at various vulnerable locations of the Ghat and it may require another two weeks to complete the works. The Assistant Executive Engineer of Sringeri sub-division has requested to continue the ban on the movement of heavy vehicles through the Ghat till next month-end.

Agumbe Ghat, connecting Udupi district with neighbouring Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru district, has been a crucial link between the coast and other parts of the state. Mini buses plying between Shivamogga and Udupi/Mangaluru, Koppa/Sringeri and Udupi have been the lifeline of people in the region, particularly hundreds visiting the Kasturba Hospital at Manipal.