Wayanad: Traffic along the Thamarassery ghat road came to a near standstill on Monday after a tanker truck developed a snag and got stuck at the 8th hairpin bend around 2.30 pm.

Police, along with volunteers of the Churam Samrakshana Samithy, attempted to regulate movement by allowing one-way traffic. However, congestion quickly built up, with vehicles lined up from Lakkidy—the entry point to Wayanad—down to Chippilithode near Adivaram in Kozhikode.

Efforts to either repair the vehicle or move it from the narrow bend did not succeed, and officials indicated that restoring normal traffic flow could take considerable time due to the size of the tanker.

Volunteers said that even after the vehicle is cleared, it may take hours for the backlog to ease, as hundreds of vehicles remain stranded along the 7-km stretch between Lakkidy and Chippilithode.

Travellers have been advised to carry water and food if passing through the ghat section is unavoidable. Police also urged those heading to catch trains from Kozhikode railway station or flights from Calicut International Airport in Karipur to plan their journeys well in advance, warning that travel time could be significantly longer than usual.