Kannur: A long stretch of the Makkoottam ghat road connecting Thalassery with Mysuru and Bengaluru was washed away in a landslip on Monday cutting the traffic between the two states.
The vehicles towards Mysuru and Bengaluru from Kannur and Kasargod districts have been diverted to Palchuram-Boys Town Road through Wayanad, it is learnt. Hundreds of passengers were left in the lurch as they have to travel over 100 km to reach Virajpetta in Karnataka through Wayanad, whereas they have to cover only 45 km to reach Virajpetta from Iritty through Makkoottam.
The 86-km Makkoottam ghat road through the Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary is part of the state highway 91. The 16.5-km stretch between Makkoottam and Perumbadi used to witness landslides and earthslip during the rains.
The Public Works Department has started maintenance work on the ghat road at Makkoottam, but the heavy rains have disrupted the work. The Public Works Department officials said partial traffic through the route had been restored. Major repair works can be started only after the rains, it was pointed out.
