Kasaragod teacher miraculously escapes landslide on NH 66 near Cheruvathoor

Kasaragod: A woman narrowly escaped a landslip that occurred near the under-construction stretch of the National Highway 66 at Veeramalakunnu, near Cheruvathoor, on Wednesday. Sindhu, a teacher at Padannakkad SN Teachers' Training Institute, said she had a miraculous escape.

The incident took place around 10:15 am.

Upon seeing the sudden landslide, she pulled the car as far to the right as possible, but the mud completely covered the front of her car. With this, she turned off the engine. The mud that had fallen moved the car slightly, and luckily, it did not overturn into a nearby pit. Sindhu said that she was terrified after seeing the accident. 

The accident occurred while the teacher was en route to the school to monitor students from the institute who had gone for training at the Kodakkad school. At the time of the landslide, there was only a bike rider 25 meters in front of the car. It is not known whether he is trapped under the mud or not. There were no other vehicles in sight. Rupesh, the owner of a nearby hotel, said that if the teacher had not stopped the car, the mud and soil would have fallen all over the car.

Locals, including Rupesh, rushed to get Sindhu out of the car. The media had already reported that there was a possibility of a Shirur-model accident. Residents of the area were also expecting such a tragedy to strike at any time. 

The concrete wall built close to the mountain helped prevent a terrible accident. Otherwise, a major tragedy would have happened. The highway, which typically experiences a steady flow of vehicles, was not very busy at the time of the landslide.

A drone inspection conducted in the presence of the Collector confirmed the possibility of a landslide. A team of experts appointed by the National Highway Authority had also assessed the risk of a landslide, but the construction company had not made any efforts to mitigate it. 

A similar situation prevails in the nearby Mattalai hill. Although a retaining wall has been built on the hillside to prevent landslides, its effectiveness is uncertain. It will only help reduce the severity of an accident if it occurs.