Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Jul 6: A massive 144-wheel trailer got stranded on National Highway 66 near Panambur Beach Road on Sunday evening, triggering heavy traffic congestion on both sides of the highway and leaving commuters stranded for nearly two hours.
The 144-wheel multi-axle modular trailer, which had transported a large industrial consignment to the New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA), got stuck while returning. The incident occurred when the trailer was entering National Highway 66 from the beach road.
The trailer, belonging to a private company based in Padubidri, had arrived at Panambur Port on Saturday night carrying export-bound industrial cargo. It had departed from Padubidri at around 11 pm and reached Panambur at about 4 am on Sunday. After unloading the cargo at the port, it left the premises at around 4 pm and attempted to enter the highway. However, while exiting the beach road, another vehicle on the side forced the trailer's front portion onto the highway divider, where it became stuck. The rear portion remained completely across the road, blocking the carriageway from Mangaluru towards Suratkal.
As a result, the huge trailer could neither move forward nor reverse, leading to a complete traffic jam on the highway. Vehicles were lined up from Panambur to Kuloor and Kottara. Frustrated passengers and motorists came onto the road and expressed anger over allowing such a massive trailer onto the highway during daytime.
Eventually, the truck's front engine unit was detached, and efforts were made to pull the trailer backwards by towing it from the rear. The trailer was finally cleared at around 6 pm, following which traffic movement was restored.
On receiving information about the incident, traffic police, highway maintenance personnel and port officials rushed to the spot and initiated efforts to remove the stranded trailer. Cranes and technical personnel were pressed into service to clear the vehicle. Traffic was later regulated by allowing one-way movement to bring the situation under control.
As vehicles remained stranded on the highway from around 4 pm to 6 pm, passengers faced severe inconvenience. When officials of the trailer-operating company arrived at the spot to oversee the removal, angry members of the public confronted them. Traffic police temporarily converted the one-way stretch from the Kuloor side into a two-way route to ease congestion.
Passengers heading to the airport and railway station faced considerable hardship due to the traffic congestion. Several ambulances were trapped between vehicles, while buses, lorries, private vehicles and emergency service vehicles remained stuck in the traffic for some time.
Visitors to Panambur Beach were also unable to leave the area and remained stranded on the roads. Tourists from other states and districts, too, were caught in the traffic jam.
As the national highway passing through Mangaluru city and the port area already witnesses heavy movement of goods vehicles, the public has urged authorities to adopt precautionary measures while permitting such oversized trailers. They demanded that movement of extremely large cargo vehicles be allowed only during non-peak traffic hours.
Commenting on the incident, DCP (Crime and Traffic) Ravishankar K said that motorists on National Highway 66 faced considerable inconvenience after the trailer got stranded near Panambur. He added that traffic police made efforts to facilitate the movement of emergency vehicles and stated that legal action would be initiated against the driver of the trailer responsible for causing the disruption.