DHARMAPURI: Residents have urged the State Highways Department to take steps to turn the Dharmapuri-Hogenakkal Road into a four-lane road to improve tourism.
The Dharmapuri-Hogenakkal Road is one of the most traffic-prone roads in the district, primarily because of the large influx of tourists to Hogenakkal. However, more than 70 per cent of the roads are two-lane. During the peak tourism season, there are traffic disruptions. Hence, residents have urged the State Highways Department to take steps to construct a four-lane road.
S Sivalingam, a resident of Pennagaram, told TNIE, “The Dharmapuri-Hogenakkal Road is a four-lane road only till Aatukaranpatti village; after that, it turns narrow. During April and May, at peak tourism season, this road sees as many as 5,000 vehicles passing. At that time, the traffic flow is often entirely disrupted. Hence, we need wide roads. Upgrading the road to four lanes would be greatly beneficial for the dozens of rural villages.”
P Rameshkumar from Dharmapuri said, “The road upgrade would be beneficial for tourism. We have an average of 30,000 people visiting Hogenakkal. Even during off seasons, we have at least thousands of people visiting Hogenakkal. One of the key resources to promote tourism is road connectivity, so efforts must be taken.”
Officials from the State highway department said, “Efforts will be taken to develop the Dharmapuri-Hogenakkal Road. As the government has developed most of the key roads in the district, soon the roads in Hogenakkal will also be upgraded.”