Deputy Commissioner Kumar, Additional Superintendent of Police C.E. Thimmaiah, and others at a meeting in Mandya on Monday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Mandya Deputy Commissioner Kumar on Monday said that crash barriers had been erected along the Visvesvaraya canal for 35 km.
Speaking at a meeting in Mandya, Dr. Kumar said that over the last two years, around 15 people died in road accidents near the canal. Several instances in which cars had toppled into the waterbody after drivers lost control of the vehicle while negotiating curves or passing along the canal.
A technical committee had been constituted for the installation of a safety and crash barrier along the canal, and a proposal seeking release of ₹20 crore had been submitted to the government, he said.
While the canal spans 540 km in the district, Mr. Kumar said it would be difficult to construct crash barriers along the entire stretch. Hence, accident-prone areas had been identified and the Department of Public Works had constructed crash barriers for 20 km and the Irrigation Department had taken up the work on erecting the crash barriers for 13 km, and the remaining stretch had been carried out by other departments.
Dr. Kumar suggested that departments set aside funds from their respective departmental budgets to construct the barriers.
He said that instructions had already been issued to install road humps, rumble strips, and signboards in addition to the crash barriers.
A letter had been written to the Managing Director of the Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL) to allocate funds for prevention of mishaps since a major portion of the roads fell under the jurisdiction of the CNNL, Dr. Kumar said.
Additional Superintendent of Police C.E. Thimmaiah, Executive Engineer of the Department of Public Works Harsha, Regional Transport Officer Hemavathi, and Executive Engineer of the Department of Minor Irrigation Shankar were present.
Published – June 23, 2025 08:28 pm IST