Banjar residents urge govt to widen Aut-Luhri highway, construct bypass

Mandi, June 15

Residents of Banjar have urged the state government to expedite the work to widen the Aut-Luhri highway in Kullu district to ease traffic congestion. The highway, which connects Banjar, Anni and Nirmand areas to the district headquarters Kullu, is in a poor condition and witnesses traffic snarls, particularly during the peak tourist season.

Banjar MLA Surender Shourie along with local residents today sat on a dharna in front of the mini secretariat in support of their demand for the widening and maintenance of the Aut-Luhri highway and the construction of a bypass at Banjar to alleviate traffic congestion.

The MLA said, “The construction of a bypass was halted for the past few months, which need to be completed in time. We have given a 10-day ultimatum to the Public Works Department to restart the construction of the bypass at Banjar.”

He alleged that the 95-km narrow Aut-Luhri highway witnessed regular traffic jams. The poor condition of the highway, which was a crucial transit route, had caused losses to the tourism industry in the region.

Guman Singh, a local resident and tourism stakeholder at Banjar, said that constructed nearly seven decades ago, this highway’s infrastructure had steadily suffered damage. Its condition deteriorated due to heavy rainfall last year. While the highway suffered extensive damage, its few stretches were washed away during the monsoon disaster last year.

He said, “Local businessmen, including traders, fruit and vegetable producers and tourism enterprises, have suffered losses due to the dilapidated highway. The residents of places such as Gusaini, Jibhi, Bathad, Shoja-Jalori, Banjar, Bali Chowki and Bahu have been badly affected, with their daily life disrupted and economic activities hampered.”

“A meeting was held with the Banjar local administration and officials of the State Highways Department recently and the issue of the widening of the road for smooth traffic was raised. We submitted a memorandum of demands through SDM, Banjar, Pankaj Sharma to the state government for further action,” said Paras Bharti, another tourism stakeholder.

Shourie said, “The region is grappling with the twin challenges of traffic congestion and a damaged road and the onus lies on the policymakers to swiftly address these issues. Failure to take decisive action not only jeopardises public safety but also undermines the vitality of local economies and threatens the region’s long-term development prospects.”