The ghat road leading to Kodaikanal is in a bad shape and the repair work here and there takes away the thrill and charm of the trip, said Jacob John from Cochin, Kerala, on his way to the ‘Princess of Hill Stations’ during the weekend
Culverts are being constructed at nine places between Oothu and Perumal Malai on Batlagundu-Kodaikanal ghat road but the spots, where the work is going on, have become dangerous with protruding iron rods without any signal to warn motorists. Heavy rain in the last week has worsened the situation with roads turning slushy and slippery. A caution sign can be found 50 metres before Panikarai.
It would be a very risky journey down the hill especially at night. The work has led to traffic bottlenecks as vans and buses take more time to negotiate on the ghat road, said Mr John.
However, tourists were eager to click selfies in front of the Silver Cascade where the water flow was heavy due to the recent rain.
“We have never seen Rat Tail Falls, which descends from a height of 900 feet, from the Dum Dum Rock viewpoint. When we visited the place three months back, it looked like a thin strip but now it is a beautiful sight, said Tanya Jain, a frequent visitor to the hills from Bangalore.
People halt to enjoy the sight of gushing streams at many places all along the ghat road while rainwater was flowing on the road at several places. Kodaikanal Lake also received a good flow of water where tourists enjoyed boating during the intermittent showers.
S. Swaminathan, Additional Divisional Engineer, State Highways Department (Kodaikanal), said that culverts had be strengthened before the onset of rainy season to prevent clogging. “We are planning to complete the work in 15 days as the curing period are over at many spots,” he said.
The water level of Marudhanadhi dam rose to 72 feet out of the maximum level of 74 feet, as of 6 a.m. on Wednesday, as per the data provided by the district administration.
The water level in Sothuparai dam touched 125.95 feet against its total capacity of 126 feet while the level in Manjalar dam rose to 55 feet, 2 feet less than its total capacity, as of 6 a.m. on Wednesday. Varadhamanadhi dam near Palani reached its full capacity of 110.90 mcft three days ago.
