The Southern Railway, Salem Division, has announced that The Nilgiris Mountain Railway service between Mettupalayam and Coonoor will remain suspended for one more day on Saturday as Thursday’s landslip near the Kallar Railway Station has damaged the railway tracks.
Sources said that though the workers had begun restoration operations on Friday, rains had made it difficult to complete the work in a day.
The work would continue on Saturday as well and as a result, the train service would be suspended for a day more. The workers had used explosives to blast the boulders to remove them from the track and replace the damaged portions of the rails. More than 20 workers were engaged in the task. The services are likely to resume on Sunday. On Thursday, passengers returning from Udhagamandalam to Mettupalayam were asked to get off the train near the Kallar station and board buses to continue their onward journey.
Special Correspondent from Udhagamandalam adds: The current wet spell, marked by almost continuous torrential rain, especially in Kotagiri, Coonoor and their surroundings, has triggered a number of run-offs. Though they present a pretty picture along the winding Ooty-Kotagiri-Mettupalayam road and the Coonoor-Mettupalayam highway, it reflects poorly on the watershed management, according to knowledgeable sources.
Speaking to The Hindu they pointed out that tourists should be warned not to go near the run-offs as the ground would be slippery.
