Shirur landslide: Kerala dismayed by decision to call off search for Arjun

Kerala has expressed its unhappiness over the decision of the Uttara Kannada district administration to temporarily call off the mission to search for truck driver Arjun, who was trapped in a massive landslide in Shirur in Karnataka.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday sent a letter to his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah, requesting him to issue instructions to continue the search operation until it yields positive results. Public Works Minister PA Mohamed Riyas, who visited the landslide site and held talks with Karnataka government officials on Friday and Saturday, expressed disappointment over the decision to call off the mission. He said the Uttara Kannada district administration had arbitrarily called off the mission without implementing the decisions of the joint meeting.

‘Breach of trust’

Terming it a breach of trust, he said, “You are reversing the decision to use pontoons and tugboats to assist in the search. We have expressed our objection to the decision.” Mr. Riyas urged the Karnataka government to explore all options to trace Arjun.

In his letter, Mr. Vijayan appreciated the efforts of the search teams and requested Mr. Siddaramaiah to continue the mission with increased strength and using all necessary equipment.

On Sunday, the 13th day of the mission, Karwar MP Satish Krishna Sail and Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner Lakshmi Priya announced that the search operation had to be temporarily called off as divers could not see through the churning waters of the Gangavali river where Arjun’s truck is believed to be stuck in the ground exposed by the landslide.

“Risk for divers”

They said the strong current in the river made the operation risky for divers and the mission had to wait for a barge to be delivered by road from Trichy in Tamil Nadu to dredge the area where the truck was discovered.

Kalliasseri MP M. Vijin, who is also camping at the site, fears that the Karnataka government may call off the mission altogether. He said the people of Kerala who were camping at the site were not informed about the decision to call off the operation.