Widespread rain over the last few days along the western ghats and in the interior pockets of Kodaikanal hills has affected the normal flow of vehicular movement since Thursday, highways engineers said.
Heavy vehicles coming upward from Palani, Periakulam and Batlagundu have been advised to proceed only during day time. In some stretches, road blocks have been reported. For instance, on the Palani-Kodaikanal ghat section, a huge tree had fallen on the road and this was noticed by the Puliamarathu villagers at around 5.30 a.m.
The Fire and Rescue Service personnel arrived at the spot and after cutting the branches, the block was cleared by 7.30 a.m. Similarly, there were damages to the road after the soil loosened due to heavy rain. The worst hit was the stretch between Adukkam (Periakulam side) to Kodaikanal, where in the road had almost caved in for 200 metres at Kurudi Kadu.
Some villagers said that after the last rains, the officials had only carried out patch-works and hence, the damage had increased this season. As a result, even two-wheelers could not proceed to the hill station and many villagers, who carry fresh vegetables and other herbal items on two-wheelers were stranded.
The Highways officials attending the works said that apart from deploying two JCPs, about dozen road workers were also deployed to set right the damages. “ We are hoping to complete the work within a few hours, but the rains forced us to stop work,” they added.
The police here have appealed to the tourists to be cautious of widespread rains. Drivers carrying goods have been advised to move during day time until the southwest monsoon slowed down.
