The Kalhatty ghat road, which remained closed during the summer tourist season, has been opened to vehicles, the District Collector confirmed on Monday (June 22).

In April of this year, the Madras High Court reiterated its order passed in 2024 to close the road, a vital link connecting Udhagamandalam to the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR). Despite the road cutting travel time to the MTR by up to 45 minutes, the stretch is extremely dangerous, with accidents being commonplace.

For years, conservationists and road safety advocates have campaigned for tourist vehicles to be allowed to MTR only via Gudalur. Following the High Court’s orders, the District Collector ordered the road to be closed to vehicles.

Murali Moorthy, a local resident and wildlife photographer, who regularly used the route over the last two months following the road’s closure, said that the impact on curtailing tourism was immense. “The impact was not just reduced vehicular traffic, but also on local wildlife, with more animals spotted along the route,” he said. Mr. Moorthy also said that there were almost no instances of roadkill in the two months that the road was closed.

“Due to the road being very narrow, and high speeds, roadkill of civet cats, small reptiles and birds is also very common. However, the road closure ensured that this was not the case during the tourist season,” he said.

When contacted, District Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru said that the court had ordered the road to be closed only during the peak tourist season. With the season having ended, the road was opened to tourist vehicles. The Collector clarified that vehicles belonging to tourists outside The Nilgiris (non TN-43 registered vehicles) are still not allowed to descend the Kalhatty road to Mudumalai from Udhagamandalam, but are allowed to ascend up the slopes using the road.