The landslides triggered by heavy rains on the hills of Tirumala, a major pilgrim centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district, in the early hours of Wednesday caused extensive damage to the ghat road so much so that it would take at least three to four weeks to bring it back to normalcy, officials said.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the temple of Lord Venkateshwara on Tirumala, has roped in a team of engineering experts from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and Chennai, to find a permanent solution to prevent landslides in future, as thousands of pilgrims travel on the ghat road every day.
TTD trust board chairman Y V Subba Reddy, who held a meeting with the experts from the IITs and engineering officials on Friday, said the second ghat road (used for upward journey of pilgrims from Tirupati to the hill shrine of Tirumala), and its retaining walls, which suffered huge damages due to the Wednesday’s landslides, would be restored at least by December end.
Reddy asked the experts and engineers to suggest measures to ensure that the remaining part of the hill which caved in resulting in massive boulders falling on the ghat road, should not witness further landslides.
This is the second time in less than two weeks that the ghat road was closed for traffic due to landslides caused by heavy rains.
{{/usCountry}}This is the second time in less than two weeks that the ghat road was closed for traffic due to landslides caused by heavy rains.
{{/usCountry}}“The parts of the hill, identified as potential threat to the pilgrims travelling on the ghat road be sealed using chemical technology or removed carefully. The safety of the pilgrims is paramount and we are prepared to spend any amount of money to prevent further landslides,” the TTD chairman said.
He asked the experts – K S Rao from IIT, Delhi and S Sripad from IIT Madras, along with retired chief engineer of TTD Ramachandra Reddy – to come up with a report on how to avert further landslides in future.
A senior official of the TTD said the team of experts, who went round the areas where landslides occurred to study the nature of rocks and the causes for the landslides, is expected to submit the report to the TTD by Tuesday.
“According to preliminary assessment, it would take at least three months to come up with a lasting solution for the landslides on Tirumala,” the official said.
Expert from Delhi IIT K S Rao told reporters that unprecedented rains on the Tirumala hills for over a week, resulted in the landslides. “The rocks that rolled down the hills were of the weight of 30-40 tons each and hence caused extensive damage to the ghat road and the retainer walls at four to five places. There is a likelihood of rock falls in five to six other spots in future,” he said.
Rao said there were rain-triggered landslides on the Tirumala ghat road in 2017, too, but this time, the magnitude was high. “During 2017, critical spots were cushioned with mesh fencing, rock belting and other such means of technology,” he said.
The experts call for creation of a proper drainage system along the ghat roads and the Seshachalam forest and hill ranges. Meanwhile, the TTD chairman directed that the authorities take steps for allowing traffic through a link road that connects the second ghat road.