Karnataka High Court hears Ankola landslide PIL; Centre submits status report on rescue op

The PIL was brought before the court by Advocates Siji Malayil and Subhash Chandran. Among the concerns raised in the petition were the alleged emphasis on clearing rubble in the initial work by authorities as opposed to finding the missing people, and also alleging that several people from Kerala with relevant expertise were “handled badly” by the Karnataka Police.

The petition requested the court to issue a writ directing all possible steps to clear all the debris and locate stranded survivors, as well as a direction for the Union of India to deploy armed forces for the rescue operation.

Deputy Solicitor General Shanti Bhushan, representing the Union of India, also presented a status report on the matter. According to the report, the bodies of seven people out of 10 missing have been recovered in the ongoing operation. Two diving teams from the Indian Navy were deployed by July 17, and two days later SONAR teams from the force also joined the operation, it added. A disaster relief team and an engineering team from the Indian Army were deployed by July 21, along with a ferrous bomb locator, which can detect metal up to 20 metres, brought from Pune.

The matter is set to be heard further on Wednesday afternoon.