Bumpy Kiratpur-Manali NH irks commuters, hoteliers
Tribune News Service
Mandi, February 3
Poor condition of the Kiratpur-Manali highway has irked the residents of Mandi and Kullu districts and those associated with tourism here. The reason behind is that the roads is part of the Chandigarh-Manali highway, the lifeline of tourism industry in Kullu-Manali and Mandi.
Ever since the construction of Kiratpur-Manali fourlane road project had started, tourism industry had been hit adversely. The highway has become prone to landslides during rainy season. Several accidents have been reported in the past in which people were injured or their vehicles got damaged.
From Sundernagar ahead upto Aut the road stretch is full of potholes, making journey for tourists and common people risky. Though fourlane project authority had repaired the road, potholes developed again within short period due to poor quality work.
Munish Sood, president of hoteliers association, Mandi said “The air connectivity to Mandi and Kullu is already very poor. Now this road is so bad that it is sure to keep tourist away. The authority concerned should improve its condition on priority.”
“The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) repaired this road a few months ago and filled the potholes to make it smooth for travelling. But due to poor quality work, it developed potholes again within a short period of time. Poor quality construction work can also be seen on district roads”, he remarked.
When asked, Deputy Commissioner Mandi Rugved Thakur said he had directed the NHAI authority to improve the condition of the road. Directing the NHAI authority to improve its condition at Banala on Kiratpur-Manali highway, where landslide threat is looming large because of deep cutting in hillside, he said a 10-day ultimatum has been served telling them to improve the condition of the road.
