Mangaluru: A portion of a temporary mud embankment at the NH-169 worksite near Yedapadavu slid into adjacent agricultural fields following heavy rain on Wednesday, blocking a culvert and causing waterlogging. The site is part of a realigned stretch of the Sannur–Bikarnakatte section, where a vehicular overpass (VOP) has been proposed.NHAI Mangaluru project director Abdulla Javed Azmi said that construction work undertaken alongside the existing highway had affected the carriageway in March 2026, and traffic was subsequently diverted to a newly constructed two-lane realignment to facilitate restoration work. He said that after the affected portion was repaired, traffic was shifted back to the existing highway.The high-fill embankment at the site had been created mainly to facilitate the temporary traffic diversion, while construction of a retaining wall was yet to begin. Following heavy rain, the filled earth gave way and slid down the embankment. It blocked a culvert, resulting in waterlogging in the adjoining agricultural fields, Azmi said.He clarified that traffic movement was unaffected as vehicles had already been shifted back to the original highway stretch before the incident. An NHAI team inspected the site on Wednesday morning.Azmi said that the NHAI’s immediate priority is to clear the waterlogging and open the blocked culvert so that the water can recede. We are also diverting the water to another culvert. There were no houses near the affected site, and that only agricultural fields had been inundated. Construction of the retaining wall will be taken up after the monsoon, he said.Farmers have sought compensation for crop damage. “The extent of the loss has not yet been assessed. Once the water recedes, we will determine the crop damage, following which a decision on compensation will be taken,” he added.Following heavy rain, a portion of the earth filling collapsed and slid down the embankment, blocking a culvert and resulting in waterlogging in adjoining agricultural fields, Azmi said. During efforts to remove the collapsed earth, a part of the road also gave way. He clarified that there is no live traffic on the temporary diversion, and vehicular movement remains unaffected as traffic had already been shifted back to the original highway stretch before the incident.
