COIMBATORE: A 100 ft high chimney of an illegal brick kiln near the Thadagam Valley collapsed on the Anaikatti - Mannarkkad State Highways Road on Monday afternoon disrupting traffic between Tamil Nadu and Kerala for around two hours.
According to sources, the chimney of an illegal brick kiln located near Thanneerpandal fell on the road and broke into pieces.
Sources said the chimney might have collapsed due to the heavy rain that lashed the district over the past couple of days. No casualties or injuries were reported due to the incident. However, a few electricity cables and poles were damaged. Local people immediately alerted officials and they rushed to the spot to clear the debris.
Speaking to TNIE, a senior official from the State Highways Department in Coimbatore Division said, “As part of monsoon precautionary measures, our officials were put on alert mode and were stationed at vital spots with earthmovers across the district for taking necessary actions. We were ready to immediately act if we received any complaints.
As soon as we heard about the chimney collapse, a team reached the spot and began removing the debris using a couple of earthmovers to clear the road. Within two hours, the entire road was cleared of the debris completely and traffic was resumed on the stretch.”
With over 50 illegal chimneys of brick kilns located dangerously on the roadsides in the entire stretch, locals and social activists have urged the officials to raze all of them and other infrastructure of the illegal brick kilns in order to prevent similar incidents.