Thiruvananthapuram: Containment zone at Kallar ward a blessing for PWD

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The sudden closure of Ponmudi and Kallar ecotourism centres after Kallar ward being declared as containment zone may have been disappointing news to many. But, the officials of the public works department (PWD) believe that the lockdown could not have come at a better time as they could peacefully carry out the maintenance works at the Ponmudi road that suffered damages during the monsoon rains in the month of June.
The PWD officials concerned said they will be commencing works on Monday. The lockdown has come just at a time the PWD awarded a work order of Rs 24 lakh to a contractor for the repair of the road. It was by July last week that the government gave administrative sanction for the works, following which the department floated a tender for awarding the contract.
“We will be trying to complete the works as fast as possible, trying to finish them before the hill station is reopened to the tourists,” said a senior official attached to the Nedumangad sub division office.
The road had suffered damages following incessant rains the hill station received in the first week of June. The road between hairpin curves 11 and 12 suffered maximum damages at several spots due to soil erosion. This resulted in depressions forming on the road surface. The rainwater kept seeping in through the gaps formed by erosion, posing a risk of caving in of the road. Besides this, crash barriers at hairpin curves 18 had also collapsed during the rain.
The district administration acted quickly and banned entry of tourists to the hill station to avoid potential tragedies. However, the district administration opened the place a few weeks later after the monsoon season got over. This was also done after assessing the Covid situation in the district.
The hill station has been witnessing huge crowds during weekends, it being the favourite weekend destination of the domestic tourists here. Last Sunday, the road to the hilltop witnessed several accidents after over 5,000 tourists thronged the place. The heavy traffic along with strong rains resulted in accidents, prompting the police and forest authorities to introduce regulations to keep the crowd under control. This includes opening a new ticket counter at Anappara forest checkpoint in addition to the existing ticket counter at Golden Valley checkpoint. They are also considering introducing an online ticket booking platform to regulate the crowds.
However, a day ago the authorities decided to close down the tourist spot after Kallar ward in Vithura panchayat, which is the entry point to the destination, was declared as containment zone due to rise in Covid cases.