Forest Department installs boards indicating mobile signal points on Yercaud ghat road in Salem

The Forest Department has installed boards at seven spots on Yercaud Ghat Road in Salem district to inform availability of mobile phone signals to tourists.

The Forest Department has installed boards at seven spots on Yercaud Ghat Road in Salem district to inform availability of mobile phone signals to tourists.

The Yercaud Ghat Road has 20 hairpin bends. Since Yercaud is located 1,515 meters above the mean sea level, the mobile phone signal strength is poor from the first hairpin bend. Only after reaching the 20th hairpin bend, tourists are able to receive calls or messages.

The Forest Department decided to sort out this issue, and started identifying spots where mobile phone signals are available. It identified seven such locations and has placed boards informing the public about the availability of the signal at those locations.

The Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF), R. Selvakumar, said that based on instructions from the Conservator of Forests, V.C. Rahul and District Forest Officer Kashyap Shashank Ravi, a team of forest officials checked all mobile operator SIM cards on the Ghat Road and identified seven spots from the first to the second hairpin bend (covering nine kilometres from the Yercaud Foothills). In seven places, almost all the major mobile networks receive signals. After that (for 13 km), none of the mobile networks received signals. The boards also display the helpline number 1800-5990-427 for the public to share details related to forests and wildlife, he said.