A path through the Forest - Shirve Mountain Trek

From Trek to Shirve, Devalmakki, Karwar

From Trek to Shirve, Devalmakki, Karwar

From Trek to Shirve, Devalmakki, Karwar

From Trek to Shirve, Devalmakki, Karwar

From Trek to Shirve, Devalmakki, Karwar

Maadibag Hill landslide Site

These are the serene pictures of the Maadibag - Jariwada Hill. No one would guess what happened there a few months back... The beauty of the picture is deceptive...

As many as 20 people were feared buried alive when seven houses collapsed following landslide due to torrential rain in the Karwar District of Karnataka. Source

As many as 20 people were feared buried alive when seven houses collapsed following landslide due to torrential rains in the Karwar district of Karnataka. Rescue operations were continuing, but it was feared that all those, who were caught under, might have been died, due to suffocation. The rescue operation was hampered last night due to bad-light and heavy rain. In Karwar taluk, more than 200 houses had collapsed and 1000 residences were water-logged. Source

Chief Minister of Karnataka on Tuesday, visited Kadwad village where more than 20 people were killed in a landslide on Friday. Chief Minister of Karnataka on Tuesday, visited Kadwad village where more than 20 people were killed in a landslide on Friday. Later, talking to mediapersons at the site of the landslide, the Chief Minsiter said the Army, Navy, police, home guards are engaged in rescue operations. He said the government will give a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each, to the kin of the victims of the landslide. He promised that relief works for people affected by untimely rains would be taken up war footing. He promised the kin of those, who were buried alive in the land slide, that alternative arrangement for their living would be made. He said all the 60 families located beneath the hillock would caved in at Madibag, would be rehabilitated at a safer place. He had already directed the Deputy Commissioner to take steps in this regard. Source Source

Although 400 people, including 50 soldiers of the Maratha Light Infantry, 50 navy personnel and 240 police personnel have been working round-the-clock with JCB machines to recover the bodies of 21 people who were buried alive in a landslide at Madibag, the task has become very difficult due to the mounds of slush covering the area to a depth of nearly 12 feet. The JCB machines could not be brought to the spot till Sunday since the road leading to Madibag was blocked following the landslide on both sides. Source

Biking Trail

I am hitting on a new Biking Trail every fortnight, well almost...
This dusty non-asphalted road to Jamba forest is after Shirwad village, about 7 kms from Karwar.
It was cloudy morning, and a peacock crossed my path, a sight which city-dwellers rarely get to see.

A rural morning.... Siddar, Karwar

Sunrise

This picture of Sunrise was shot at Siddar village, in Karwar, enroute our Shirve mountain trek.... More pictures to follow..

Fruits and Vegatable Sellers in Panjim

Siesta (and the Photographers)

Well, it was a warm afternoon, and this lady decided to nap in her Shop. A tourist couple were clicking away at her, and I too took my chance to click them....

Crossing the River Kali... after the Bridge Closure..

While the closure of the Kali Bridge has put commuters to inconvenience, for several unemployed youths in the area it has come as a welcome chance to make a fast buck. The bridge, which connects Karwar and Sadashivgad, has been closed for a month for repairs, and is open only for two-wheelers.
A few adventurous boat owners too have found a way to get cars, jeeps and other light vehicles across the river. - Express Buzz

Vehicles were loaded on boats and ferried across the River Kali. Even two boats were joined together to ferry Four vehicles, and the boat owners saved some fuel/money by running the Boat-duo on one engine. The time to reach 800metres across the Kali River was about Ten-15 minutes, but loading and unloading took a lot of time.

There have been confusions as to whether the owners of the vehicle can get to claim Insurance in the event of mishap whie crossing the river like this.... The Karwar District Administration was quick to wash its hands off this, by saying that the Government had not authorised the boats, and it was the sole risk of the Vehicle owners to ferry their vehicles on such boats.

However, a good number of vehicles have been ferried across the River for a fee of Rs.350 to 400-00 (8 to 10 US Dollars) per vehicle, since 06-01-2009, without any untoward incident, saving nearly 80 minutes of road travel time using te roundabout diversion of 80kms, and fuel.

But the latest News is that :-
The repair work of Kali bridge has encountered a technical problem and the district administration has decided to reopen the bridge for the commuters in a day or two. The plunger of the hinge bearing could not be separated from the main bearing, the sources said. The bridge built in 1983 is being repaired for the first time. Since the time it was built the eight bearings have not been changed, sources from the National Highway department said. A Mumbai-based engineering company has taken up the repair work and more than 50 workers are engaged in the work. Earlier it was assumed that for the replacement of each bearing three days would be enough and the entire work would be completed within a month. But the workers are unable to remove even the screw of one bearing, so the National Highway department and the district administration of Uttar Kannada have decided to postpone the repair work. Sources from Uttara Kannada district administration said that an expert team of the engineers from New Delhi would arrive at Karwar to study the problem and bridge would be closed during the next repair probably in March. - Times of India

Let Pray for the Victims of the Haiti Earthquake.....

Sunset Sequence

No two Sunsets are the same.
These pictures are of the same Sunset though.
Clicked at Tagore Beach Karwar.

The Child-Angel - A Poem by Rabindranath Tagore



They clamour and fight, they doubt and despair,
they know no end to their wranglings.

Let your life come amongst them like a flame of light, my child,
unflickering and pure, and delight them into silence.

They are cruel in their greed and their envy,
their words are like hidden knives thirsting for blood.

Go and stand amidst their scowling hearts, my child,
and let your gentle eyes fall upon them
like the forgiving peace of the evening over the strife of the day.

Let them see your face, my child,
and thus know the meaning of all things;
let them love you and thus love each other.

Come and take your seat in the bosom of the limitless, my child.
At sunrise open and raise your heart like a blossoming flower,
and at sunset bend your head and in silence complete the worship of the day.

Blue Beetle

Clicked this well-maintained Blue Beetle at Panjim Goa, on Saturday afternoon.....

My earlier Picture post of a Silver Beetle.. here 

A Beach Resort

This Beach Resort is at Ankola, Honey Beach, 35 kms south of Karwar... Their website is here.....

Biking to the Moon...

The partial Full moon is visible in this picture taken at sunrise, as I was biking at Arthalava Kere, Mudgeri in Karwar...

The Early Morning Catch..

Fishermen head to the Sea for the Early morning's Catch, on a traditional fising boat at Tagore Beach, Karwar...

Racing South

A Boat speeds towards the Southern Bank of Kali River at Karwar.....

Kali Bridge Closed for Repairs

Fresh trouble for commuters who use National Highway 17. Come January 5, the Kali bridge that links Goa with Karnataka, will be closed for a month for repair works. The bridge bearings needs to be immediately replaced. Otherwise, chances of the bridge collapsing is high, say experts.  - Times of India

The bridge considered to be the lifeline of coastal Karnataka was built in 1986. The temporary closure of the bridge means that there is no other route for the people to reach Goa from Karnataka. - Times of India

Everyday thousands of students from both the sides cross the bridge. The Banbolim of Goa Medical College is the nearest one to Karwar people and ambulances carrying them will now have to travel 80 km extra.... - Times of India

The district administration has decided to arrange nine boats to enable people, particularly the school-children, to cross the Kali river between Sadashivgad and Karwar during the repair of the Kali bridge for a month, commencing on January 5. - Sahil Online

``Barring two-wheelers, vehicles plying between Karwar and Goa will have to take diversions from Kaiga township and Kadra to reach Sadashivagad," Uttara Kannada DC Channappa Gowda said. Accordingly, those commuting on four-wheelers will have to take a detour of 80 km to reach Sadashivagad, which is only 3 km from Karwar.  - Times of India