Daijiworld Media Network – Puttur (SP)

Puttur, Jun 21: At around 6 am on Saturday June 21, a tanker moving towards Mangalore and a truck coming from the opposite direction collided with each other at Kempu Hole in Shiradi Ghat stretch of national highway 75. As a result, traffic between Mangalore and Bangalore came to a grinding halt.

Long lines of vehicles were formed on both sides of the accident spot. As the road got blocked, policemen had a trying time to control the traffic and lend some semblance of orderliness. As the vehicles got stranded for several hours, some opted to take a detour and move to Bangalore via Mysore.

Although both the vehicles suffered damages in the accident, no loss of lives was reported. The drivers and cleaners of the two vehicles sustained minor injuries, it is learnt.

Reckless driving of heavy vehicles, particularly tankers moving on this Ghat section in spite of a number of accidents and repeated warnings, came in for bitter criticism by locals and drivers of stranded vehicles alike.

Normalcy was restored and the road was cleared for traffic after several hours, after both the vehicles were moved aside.