Breast walls to be built on 12 high risk spots prone to landslips in Jawadhu Hills
Workers with the State Highways removing a huge volume of rocks and mud due to landslip on the stretch in Pudur Nadu village in Jawadhu Hills.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Department of Highways is planning to construct breast walls on 12 identified high risk spots prone to landslips on the 20-km road in Jawadhu Hills of Tirupattur district to prevent loss of lives from erosion and landslip.
Officials of the State Highways said that the new road, which is 15ft wide, was laid for the first time, since the formation of the stretch in the early 1970s, when the Forest Department allowed the laying of a road to provide access to the 20 hamlets in the hillock.
Major villages in the hillock are Pudur Nadu, Nellivasal Nadu and Pungampattu Nadu where people belonging to the Malayali tribe have been residing for centuries.
“Breast walls help to prevent any accidental fall of loose rocks and mud from the hillock. Such walls are built on the hilly side whereas retaining walls are built on the valley side of the hills. Jawadhu Hills has retaining walls,” said an official of State Highways.
In recent weeks, the hills have been witnessing high rainfall with major rivers like Cheyyar, Then Pennar and their tributaries receiving heavy inflow. Heavy downpour has also loosened rock soil and boulders in the hills especially in Pudur Nadu village.
Huge volume of mud and rocks had fallen on the newly laid road in the hills a few days ago, affecting traffic on the route. Highway officials removed them before restoring traffic.
“The new stretch is a lifeline for tribals in the hills as they can reach big towns in the plains much quicker. Students from the hills also depend on the stretch to reach educational institutions in the towns,” said V. Mayandi, a resident.
Each breast wall, on an average, will be 10-20 ft in height, depending on the nature of rocks in the hills. Rock soil constitutes around 70% of the soil in the hills while the rest are forms of soft soil like mud. Most of the loosened portion on the hilly areas is soft soil. The hills witness frequent landslides mainly due to the weakening of soft soil.
Officials said that the plan to construct breast walls in the hills has been given a big push by the State government mainly after the major landslide occurred in Wayanad (Kerala) recently. As a results, efforts are being taken to prevent landslides in the hilly region.
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