By P.T. Bopanna
I had warned last year against giving permission for glass bridges in landslide-prone Kodagu (Coorg) district in Karnataka, without proper safety audit, as it could endanger lives of tourists.
Now, the second glass bridge which came up near Madikeri four months ago, is on the verge of collapse following a landslide underneath the bridge a few days ago. In fact, I visited the bridge located near Abbey Falls, on the day it was inaugurated. Those accompanying me felt the bridge lacked stability. Following the landslide, the bridge has become unsafe for tourists as the pillars supporting the bridge have become unstable.
When the first glass bridge came up last year on Bhagamandala road, I had made an appeal to the district administration to conduct a safety audit before allowing tourists on the bridge.
In a Facebook post, I had urged: “I appeal to the Kodagu DC @KodaguDC and SP @KodaguSp to visit the spot and satisfy themselves that all the papers are in order. I also request the owner of the bridge not to allow too many people to use the bridge at a time.”
The first glass bridge was inaugurated by the Virajpet MLA, A.S. Ponnanna. In my report, I had posed: “Wonder whether Ponnanna has verified whether the necessary safety measures are in place and the owner of the bridge has obtained the certificate for its safety from the competent authority.”
The Kodagu DC Venkat Raja has now ordered the locking of the glass bridge near Abbey Falls. A case of closing the stable after the horse has bolted. There is no clarity in the DC’s order on the status of the glass bridge on Bhagamandala road.
I understand several applications are pending for installing glass bridges in Kodagu to attract tourists. Apparently, the tourism department is under the wrong notion that glass bridges attract more tourists to the district. As Kodagu is prone to landslide, any decision should be taken after getting clearance from a panel of engineers appointed by the government.
We have to learn lessons from collapse of the pedestrian suspension bridge over the Machchhu River in the city of Morbi in Gujarat two years ago, causing the deaths of at least 135 people and injuries to more than 180 others.
