– Mohammed Talha Siddi Bapa
As heavy monsoon showers continue to lash coastal Karnataka, concern is mounting over fresh landslide threats in the hilly terrain of Uttara Kannada district. In Karwar, authorities have moved swiftly to restrict access to vulnerable areas after a new spell of rainfall saturated the slopes around key roads and residential zones.
According to a report published today by SahilOnline, district officials have prohibited vehicle parking along landslide-prone stretches of the national highway in and around Karwar, warning that continued downpours could trigger dangerous slope failures. In Bhatkal taluk, part of the same coastal belt, a significant road segment has been closed entirely as a precaution. These decisions come in response to visibly unstable hillfaces and growing anxiety among local residents.
While no major casualties have been reported so far, the situation is tense. Several villagers told reporters that large boulders are visibly shifting on hillsides above critical roads. The rain, they say, has not paused for more than a few hours at a time, leaving no opportunity for water-logged slopes to settle. “This is exactly how it started last time,” said one resident near the Kodasalli bridge area, referring to earlier landslide incidents in the district that claimed lives and cut off access routes.
The local administration, already on high alert, has reportedly deployed field staff to monitor water levels and assess terrain risks. However, with no let-up in rainfall and forecasts predicting further showers in the coming days, the pressure on both civil infrastructure and disaster response teams continues to grow.
This stretch of the Western Ghats is well-known for its ecological fragility. Over the past decade, experts have repeatedly warned that deforestation, unregulated road widening, and dam-linked erosion have destabilised many hillslopes in the region. The latest fears come less than a year after the Geological Survey of India flagged 21 zones in the Karwar area as highly landslide-prone.
While these measures – road closures, parking bans, and monitoring – are necessary and commendable, experts insist that long-term solutions will require more than reactive safety alerts. Strengthening slope-retention structures, installing real-time geotechnical sensors, and enforcing ecological safeguards are urgently needed to avoid a repeat of the tragic landslides that have marred the region’s recent history.
As the rains show no sign of abating, Karwar’s people once again find themselves caught between nature’s fury and human negligence – hoping this season will pass without disaster.
