Travel turns a nightmare on Nallamala ghat roads

Kurnool: Frequent traffic jams on Nallamala ghat road leading to Srisailam has become a nightmare for commuters. Once a vehicle gets stuck on the road, traffic goes haywire as vehicles get stranded for hours together.

Recently a lorry with a load of rice could not climb up the steep hill and was halted at Rollapenta ghat holding up traffic for hours together.

The Atmakur deputy superintendent of police said vehicle users were advised to follow traffic rules and avoid blocking the ghat road.

“The problem faced by the bus passengers who were stranded due to traffic challenges is unimaginable,” said K. Soorayya, a frequent visitor to Srisailam. He said that during the harsh summer, if a bus was stuck on a ghat for hours together, passengers including children and women face hardships due to non availability of water and unbearable heat in the bus.

The two Srisailam ghat roads, which fall under the jurisdiction of three districts, have been neglected by all concerned over the years and they have thus become unsafe for use by vehicles.

One of the ghat roads spans a stretch of 110 km from the temple town to Atmakur on the Srisailam-Kurnool route and the other 120 km up to Munnanur on the Hyderabad-Srisailam route.

The ghat roads are under the control of three district administrations—Kurnool, Prakasam and Mahabubnagar.  

Five departments, roads and buildings, forest, medical and health, irrigation and police are tasked with ensuring the safety of the pilgrims travelling on the ghat roads.

But they had failed due to lack of coordination among them, said a road user.