3 yrs on, Kullu-Naggar-Manali left bank road awaits widening

Even after the passage of over three years of the announcement by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari assuring the double-laning of the Kullu-Naggar-Manali left bank, its alignment has not been finalised.

During his visit to Kullu in June 2021, the Union Minister had announced to widen the road on a priority basis, but there is still is no headway in the project.

Last year, during his visit in August to take stock of the condition of the road after floods, the minister had stated that the project of the left bank road would be undertaken after the complete restoration of the right bank Kullu-Manali national highway (NH). In May in Anni during campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections, Gadkari had again stated that the Kullu-Manali left bank road would be widened at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore.

However, the right bank road had suffered massive damages due to floods last year and it was again damaged this year. Residents of Manali said the permanent restoration of the right bank road would take time, as so far even the detailed project report (DPR) had not been prepared even after the passage of over a year.

Nitin, a resident of Jagatsukh village, alleged that with the pace at which the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was working, it would take years for the permanent restoration of the right bank road with adequate protective measures, and the widening of the left bank road was a distant dream. He said, “The NHAI should expedite the left bank road project along with the refurbishment of the right bank road.”

The NHAI, along with the Public Works Department (PWD), had done the survey of the Kullu-Manali left bank road in October 2021. Earlier the road was being constructed under the State Road Project Tranche-II and was being funded by the World Bank. The NHAI took over the project from the PWD in January last year and now the entire budget would be provided by the Central Government.