Mangaluru deluge: Flights affected, trains cancelled; roads, buildings damaged amidst mudslides

Mangaluru, June 30: The life in the port city of Karnataka was thrown out of gear as the shoddy preparedness on the part of local administration and the crumbling public infrastructure exposed the so called ‘Smart City’.

Torrential rain that lashed Mangaluru today wreaked havoc in the form of artificial flood in a majority of the city roads, besides leaving a trail of destruction. Amidst relentless rains, there were reports of damage to roads and buildings whereas minor landslides reported across the coastal district of Dakshina Kannada.

Meanwhile, the Met Department has issued an orange alert till July 1 and yellow alert from July 2 to 4.

Trains cancelled

The services of unreserved express special Train No.06488 and 06489 between Subrahmanya Road - Mangaluru Central was cancelled due to a landslide that occurred between Padil and Mangaluru Junction section 9am on Thursday. 

Railway authorities expressed hope that the Landslip between Padil and Mangaluru Junction was likely to be restored by Thursday night.

Flights affected

Bengaluru- Mangaluru Indigo flight scheduled to arrive at MIA at 7.10am, diverted back to Bengaluru after 30 minutes of hovering over the airport due to poor visibility. It Later arrived at 12.50pm and left 1.15pm. 

Meanwhile, the Hyderabad Indigo flight scheduled to land at 11.30am, landed 40 minutes late. Another arrived from Bengaluru 15 minutes late at 11.35 am and departed 50 minutes late at 12.50pm. Yet another Bengaluru Mangaluru flight arrived 25 minutes late at 2.05 pm and left at 2.59 pm, instead of the scheduled departure time of 2.35 pm.

Threat to bridge

The intense rainfall saw a side of the approach road at Maravoor bridge, connecting the Mangaluru International Airport, sink causing fear of damage to the road, PWD executive engineer, who inspected the spot, said the bridge was intact. 

He said on the approach road, there is a slight slipping of earth towards the airport side which will be attended immediately. But since traffic was restricted on the bridge, there were long queues with only one-way traffic, from either side being permitted at a time.