Threat of landslides: 40-f t wall to fortify Kodagu DC Office

• Building stands on a steep gradient on the Madikeri-Mangaluru Road
• GSI scientists suggest retaining wall to secure structure worth Rs. 14.43 crore

Kushalnagar: Following the threat of landslides due to heavy rain, a huge 40-ft retaining wall is being built to protect the Kodagu Deputy Commissioner’s Office at Madikeri. The Office, located on a steep gradient along the Madikeri-Mangaluru Road, is under threat of collapse. Nearly Rs. 5 crore is being spent on the project. 

Named as District Administrative Office, the vast building houses the DC Office and several other departments have sections inside. It was built at a cost of Rs. 14.43 crore and was inaugurated in November 2014. Along with the DC’s Office, the Offices of Assistant Commissioner, Mines and Geology Department, Labour, Education and Survey Department function from this building.    

In August 2018, 2019 and 2020, previously unheard of rains lashed Kodagu and caused widespread havoc and loss of life and limbs. Many villages were wiped out and hills collapsed and landslides destroyed houses, trees, plantations and residential colonies. Madikeri Taluk was worst affected. 

As a precautionary measure in 2020, the main offices located in the DC Office Complex were shifted and the offices functioned from the Office of City Municipal Council. Only essential sections were operated from the DC Office and the other non-essential wings were closed till the rain subsided. 

GSI study, recommendations

Even Geologists from Geological Survey of India (GSI) officials, who conducted a study of the steep gradient on top of which the DC Office is located, had recommended the District Administration to construct a retaining wall to prevent  any landslides. 

The threat perception is high as a couple of landslides have occurred on the Madikeri-Mangaluru Road and even there were instances of road caving in and cracking open. In 2018 and 2019, many stretches of the road were closed and traffic was diverted. Passage of heavy vehicles was banned for several days. 

Wall 140 meters in length

As per the GSI recommendations, the retaining wall is being built now. The tender has been bagged by Mysuru-based Ayyappa Constructions and the estimated cost of the wall is Rs. 5 crore. The wall will be 140 meters in length and the height varies from 30 to 40 feet. The contractors are using soil nailing and pre-casting method to build the sturdy wall, contractors told Star of Mysore.

It is a structure designed and constructed to resist the lateral pressure of soil and new technology is being used here. In a normal retaining wall, a plain wall will be built along the gradient. Here, iron rods are inserted into the walls up to two to three feet inside and two to three feet outside and then the wall will be built with pre-cast concrete material like they build the sides of any flyover.

Additional support is typically provided by rods and associated anchorage systems and will ensure that the concrete wall stays strong and will support the DC Office foundation and prevent it from sliding.