The Nilgiris district police are identifying detours that can help tourists circumvent the Thalakundah checkpost, where police personnel have been stationed to regulate the use of the road by only local vehicles.
The checkpost has been set up to restrict access to the Kalhatti ghat road to vehicles from outside the Nilgiris, with only locally registered vehicles being allowed to use the stretch to descend to Masinagudi and Mudumalai.
The road is known to be extremely dangerous to drivers unaccustomed to using it due to its steep gradients, blind corners and sharp hairpin bends. There are no restrictions prohibiting vehicles from using the road when climbing the Kalhatti ghat road as there have not been any major accidents while vehicles were ascending the road.
A few days ago, a van carrying a group of tourists crashed along the road, killing one person and injuring 17 others. The driver of the van was being guided to an illegally-run resort through lesser policed panchayat roads which can be used to circumvent the Thalakundah checkpost.
In order to prevent such incidents from recurring, the Nilgiris district superintendent of police, Ashish Rawat, said that the police were identifying the routes that could be used by motorists to reach the ghat road through villages from surrounding areas.
Mr. Rawat said that there were believed to be two or three routes that can be used by motorists and that the police were having discussions with the district administration about setting up barricades along these roads that will restrict unauthorised vehicle movement.
