Vizag beach road faces landslide risk: Geologists

Visakhapatnam: The Visakhapatnam Beach Road is facing the imminent threat of landslide throughout its 23 km stretch, and so is the railway track between Visakhapatnam and Kirandul due to the incessant rains that began on July 19 and continuing in north coastal Andhra Pradesh, experts have warned. A few boulders of smaller size rolled on and fell in the compound wall of the Telugu Desam office near Ramnagar on Monday and no untoward incident was reported. Similarly, some boulders fell from a hillock in Sanjeevinagar Colony in Gajuwaka, terrorising local people.

“The problems with Kailasagiri Beach Road and Vizag-Kirandul rail track are man-made. The Kailasagiri Hill was cut unscientifically to create the Beach Road and the district officials took no remedial measures to prevent rock fall. If it rains continuously for a week, there are chances of rocks rolling onto the road. The danger lurks for a 23-km long Beach Road wherever hillocks are located,’’ said Prof. E. Dhananjay Rao of the Department of Geology, Andhra University, on Monday.

During the last two decades, several people lost their lives to sliding boulders during the rainy season. On October 26, 2019, huge boulders slipped onto the Beach Road near Kailasagiri hillock close to Tenneti Park in the early hours and blocked the busy Beach Road for hours. Similarly, incidents of landslides between Vizag and Kirandul via Araku Valley are frequently reported during monsoons. Huge boulders rolled onto the Kodipunjuvalasa village in Araku mandal of Visakhapatnam agency on August 4, 2006, killing 18 people on the spot and flattening 15 houses. The entire village was later relocated to another place.

Prof. Dhananjay Rao told the Deccan Chronicle that he had submitted a report to the VMRDA officials on the corrective measures to be taken up at Kailasagiri and Port area and these measures include geo-textiling, construction of gravity retaining walls, slope adjustment and building fencing. Chief Engineer of VMRDA K. Bhavani Shankar said he would suggest to the GVMC officials to close one side of the road as a precautionary measure.

As to the railway track that connects Visakhapatnam and Kirandul, the Railways have taken up preventive measures as a prolonged blockade would result in loss of revenue and stop the movement of iron ore. A railway official said they have completed 70 per cent of the works in constructing retaining walls, sub-drains and fencing. “We are also conducting an aerial survey to identify more sensitive places along the track till Kirandul,’’ he added.