A series of unfortunate coincidences preceded the tragic car accident on the Kalhatti ghat road on Monday that resulted in the death of five tourists who visited the Nilgiris three days ago, the police said.
Speaking to The Hindu , Nilgiris Superintendent of Police D.Shanmuga Priya said vehicles from outside the Nilgiris were prohibited from using the Kalhatti Ghat Road. They are usually stopped at the Thalaikundah police outpost, just before the ghat road. Drivers wanting to visit the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) are usually asked to take a detour via Gudalur, as the roads in that route are safer and the gradients are not as steep.
However, on Monday morning, when the seven tourists left their hotel room, they reportedly passed the outpost just a few minutes before the first beat policemen arrived to man the outpost.
“Furthermore, as it was a Monday morning, when there is usually very little traffic on the ghat road, there were no drivers along the route who could have noticed the accident,” she said.
After reviewing the sequence of events that led to the incident, the police will be enforcing new measures to prevent such accidents.
“As an initial step, we would post police personnel at the outpost in Kalhatti 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and ensure that outstation vehicles are turned away,” she said.
There are two other roads that would lead motorists to the ghat road. “We are going to station personnel along these two roads as well and stop traffic,” she said.
The ban on cars and freight vehicles from outside the Nilgiris descending the Kalhatti ghat road would be extended to two-wheelers too, she added.
Autopsies on the bodies of five victims were done.
