Traffic affected on ghat road in Erode for hours as vehicle develops snag

Vehicle movement on Dhimbam Ghat Rd disrupted 4 hrs due to snag in commercial van. Occurred at 26th hairpin bend on NH 948, which passes through STR. Fuel tank emptied, vehicle stalled, fuel refilled but snag prevented engine start. Traffic affected b/w TN & Karnataka, resumed after 11am. Drivers drove w/ headlights on due to dense fog, visibility poor.

Movement of vehicles on the Dhimbam Ghat Road was affected for four hours after a commercial van developed snag at the 26th hairpin bend here on Friday.

The ghat road on the Dindigul – Bengaluru National Highway 948 with 27 hairpin bends passes through the core area of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) and serves as an important road link between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. As the fuel tank went empty at 7 a.m., the vehicle stopped while negotiating the hairpin bend and halted on the middle of the road disrupting vehicle movement. Fuel was brought and refilled. But, the vehicle developed a snag and the engine could not be started.

Since vehicles were allowed to use the ghat road from Bannari and from Karapallam check-post from 6 a.m., vehicles, mostly trucks, lined up on both sides of the stretch affecting vehicle movement between the two States. The commercial van was moved to the roadside and traffic resumed after 11 a.m. Lorry drivers and policemen regulated the traffic as normalcy returned by noon.

Since dense fog engulfed the road, drivers drove with headlines on and vehicles moved at a slow pace on the ghat road. Drivers said the visibility was very poor in the morning in the last one week and they operated with caution to avoid collision.