Landslide on Beach Road, boulders from Kailasagiri stall traffic flow

Visakhapatnam: Boulders rolled down onto the Beach Road from Kailsagiri Hill, between Appughar and Jodugullapalem, following heavy rains in the city.No injuries or casualties were reported since the incident took place around 4am on Friday and there was no vehicular traffic on the road. Rolling down of rocks is quite a regular affair in the area but boulders of this size sliding down is a first.The boulders fell right in front of Tenneti Park. The park is a popular spot and many gather there for the scenic beauty in the mornings and evenings.The boulders have to be broken down by excavators before they can be cleared from the road. City traffic police have imposed restrictions from Kailsagiri ropeway to Jodugulopalem by diverting the traffic on another lane of the road. The GVMC is trying its best to restore traffic flow at the earliest. However, sources said that normal traffic flow can only be imposed on Saturday.Experts say that rocks on the hill are somewhat loosely packed owing to soil erosion. A study by Andhra University had found that the 23-km-long Beach Road from Appughar to Bheemili is vulnerable to landslides during the rains. “The situation is dangerous and calls for an immediate precautionary step to ensure that the boulders don’t roll down to the road,” said Sagarnagar resident S Srinivas Murthy who frequently travel on the road.Speaking to TOI, ACP (traffic) Ch Papa Rao pointed out: “We will suggest GVMC, VUDA and Forest officials to identify the loose boulders on the hill and remove them to prevent such incidents in the future.” The traffic police are of the opinion that there is a need to put up retaining walls and do some rock bolting and iron netting at certain vulnerable points to overcome the problem. At Tenneti Park area, VUDA had laid the road without taking any steps to bind the rocks. Even as civic authorities tried to protect the road from small landslides by putting up cement boundaries at the foot of Kailasagiri, the boundaries failed to serve its purpose. The hillocks at Visalakshinagar and few other areas on the Beach Road may cause similar accidents. Without lateral support, the fractured rock boulders may collapse and excess rainfall is likely to cause landslide posing a threat to commuters.