Chill and windy conditions have hit normal life in and around this hill station. Though the rainfall was not heavy, the gusty winds accompanying them and the cold has hampered the movement of people.
The inflow of tourists has also been reduced to a trickle. Trees were uprooted in some places. A massive eucalyptus tree fell across the Udhagamandalam-Masinagudy road near Kalhatty early on Thursday.
It was removed by personnel of the Highway and Fire and Rescue Services departments with the help of the police.
Traffic on the road was disrupted for over five hours.
Speaking to The Hindu G. Murugan, Assistant Divisional Engineer, Highways, said that a crane had to be pressed into service to lift the tree.
Fortunately, there were no vehicles or pedestrians at the spot when the tree fell.
Pointing out that it was a dry tree, he said that as a measure of precaution all the dry trees on the stretch which posed a threat would be removed over the next fortnight.
Stating that trees had also fallen at a couple of places on the Ooty-Kotagiri road, he said that they had been removed immediately by the Highways staff on patrol duty.
Special teams have also been formed to remove uprooted trees in various parts of the district. Traffic on the Gudalur-Kerala road too was frequently hit on account of bamboo trees getting uprooted.
