Bridge damaged, traffic jams on Kangra-Mandi highway irk commuters

Dharamsala, May 6

Commuters had to wait in long queues as traffic jams marred the Kangra-Mandi national highway near Matour today.

Only one-way traffic is allowed on the two bridges on the Manji river – a temporary bailey bridge and an old bridge. Repair work was underway on the temporary bailey bridge near Matour, which was damaged recently. Thus, traffic from both the sides had to move through only one bridge, leading to long traffic jams. The traffic police were deputed on the road to regulate traffic, but commuters were still stuck in the snarl-ups.

A resident of Kangra, Sanjeev Chaudhary, said locals had to suffer almost every day due to frequent traffic jams on this road. “The authorities have failed to construct a permanent bridge, despite heavy traffic on the national highway,” he added.