THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the commencement of summer vacation, the police have launched an awareness campaign to reduce accidents on the winding high range roads of
Ponmudi hills. For this they have sought the help of
Vana Samrakshana Samithi (VSS) to distribute road safety pamphlets to motorists heading towards the destination.
“There are 22 hairpin bends on the road and we have identified 13 of them as black spots owing to high possibility of accidents,” said B
Anil Kumar, deputy superintendent of police.
The
DSP said that the since last year, the police had been checking the motorists since the road to Ponmudi always lure young and inexperienced twowheeler riders. Another focus is on smuggling of liquor to the top of the hill. “For the past few years, we have been following a zero-tolerance policy towards liquor consumption on top of the hill’’, Anil Kumar said. Many motorists have met with accidents while descending the hill after consuming liquor.
“Since the weather is always cold, people tend to consume more liquor. The liquor will affect their senses when they descend and the temperature rises,” the DSP said. Hence the police and volunteers of VSS would check the vehicles on the foot of the hill and seize liquor bottles. However, they would hand over the bottles back to the owners when they return as there is no law allowing their confiscation.
The law enforcers had been doing this not just for the safety of the motorists but also to keep the environment clean.
Representative image